


Game of Chance

by MadameMagic



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 58
Words: 330,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22706239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadameMagic/pseuds/MadameMagic
Summary: Maybe it was by chance that she had been in the car when it went off the bridge, but since then strange things have kept happening. Elena was keeping secrets from her. But it wasn't like she could complain when she was keeping things from Elena too. Ellie Gilbert's life used to be simple. But nothing could prepare her for what was coming next.Story is also posted on Fanfiction.net with the same name. My author's name is also the same.
Relationships: Elijah Mikaelson/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 791
Kudos: 598





	1. Pilot

**Chapter 1: Pilot**

_May 23, 2009_

“Elena!” A whine escaped the brunette’s mouth as she looked over to the tight grip Elena had on her wrist.

“No Ellie, come on, I want to go home.” Elena replied as she dragged her sister farther away from the party going on.

“What does that even have to do with me? I didn’t want to come to the party in the first place and now that you’re not having a good time you want me to come home with you too? Elena come on! I was having fun with Bonnie and Caroline!” Ellie complained but Elena just put her phone up to her ear and waited for someone to answer.

“Hey, it’s me.” Elena said to whoever was on the phone as Ellie looked longingly back at the party.

 _“Your dad is making me play pictionary.”_ Jenna’s voice was just loud enough for Ellie to hear her from where she stood. _“I_ suck _at pictionary.”_

“You really do Aunt Jenna!” Ellie called and she could hear Jenna’s responding laugh.

_“Bite me, Grayson.”_

“Listen, do you think someone can come pick us up?” Elena asked, releasing Ellie to wrap her arm around her stomach.

“No! I’m all good here, Elena is just being mopey.” Ellie called to Jenna as she ignored Elena’s glare.

“Matt and I got into a fight. He was talking about college and marriage and all the stuff that he always talks about, and I just… I couldn’t.” Elena said and Ellie knew from the change of tone she was talking to their mother now and she stepped up behind Elena so she could hear their mother more clearly.

 _“He doesn’t really care about that yet, honey. He’s just trying to figure out how you feel about him right now.”_ Their mom told her.

“I don’t know how I feel.”

_“Yes, you do. You’re just afraid to say it.”_

“Yeah, but I don’t want to lose him.”

 _“You’re not gonna lose him, honey. You’re setting him free.”_ Elena was nodding along to their mother and after a moment, the conversation was over.

“Mom said that she and dad are gonna come and pick us up.” Elena told her as they kept walking farther away from the party.

“Fine, but I just want to remind you that I’ve been telling you for over a _month_ to stop stringing Matt along, but of course it’s only good advice when coming from mom.” Ellie reminded her before pulling out her phone to call Caroline.

 _“I can’t believe Elena is making you leave the party just because she wants to leave!”_ Caroline groaned. _“I was so close to getting you hooked up with Greg until she dragged you off.”_

“It wasn’t gonna happen anyways Care, but nice try. Anyways are we going to have that sleepover next weekend?” Ellie asked as she messed with a string on her sleeve.

 _“Definitely! We can watch Twilight! I can_ not _wait for New Moon to come out.”_ Caroline said excitedly and a loud cheer erupted from her end of the line.

Ellie looked up and as she pulled the ear back a bit from the loudness and spotted a strange, unfamiliar man approaching Elena. “Caroline! Hey Care, I gotta go, I’ll talk to you later.” Despite Caroline asking why she was hanging up suddenly, she just flipped her phone shut and moved quickly to her sister. “Elena!” She called and she could see Elena’s shoulders sag in relief of not being alone.

The man seemed stunned by her appearance and she thought that she heard him mutter the name Katherine under his breath, but she couldn’t be sure. “Ellie.” Elena said as she moved to stand closer to her sister. “This is my sister, Ellie.”

He definitely seemed confused by the two of them. Maybe he was crazy? Or on drugs? “Oh. You two… you both just look… I’m sorry. The two of you just really remind me of someone. I’m Damon.”

“Well, Damon, maybe we have a long lost triplet that you met somewhere.” Ellie’s sass slipped out before she could help herself. She rolled her eyes slightly at Elena’s worried look, obviously her twin didn’t feel safe around this man.

“Not to be rude or anything, Damon, but it’s kinda creepy that you’re out here in the middle of nowhere.” Elena told him.

“You’re one to talk.” He retorted. “You two are out here all by yourselves.”

“It’s Mystic Falls. Nothing bad ever happens here.” Elena said as an explanation. “I got into a fight with my boyfriend.”

Ellie shot her a quizzical look. Why on earth was she telling her problems to a random stranger that they’d never even seen in Mystic Falls before? “About what? May I ask?” Damon questioned and Ellie couldn’t shake the feeling she had that screamed this guy was either weird or a serial killer, both maybe. No normal adult man wanted to listen to a random teenage girl’s boy problems.

“Life.” Elena said with a shake of her head. “The future. He’s got it all mapped out.”

“And you don’t want it?” Damon guessed.

“I don’t know what I want.” Elena said and Ellie mentally clocked out of the conversation and despite that she could still hear the vaguely flirting tone her sister had adopted as she spoke with the random man. Instead she turned to look for her parents but made sure to keep them in her line of sight, just in case Damon turned out to be crazy.

Elena was asking Damon what he wanted as Ellie spotted their parent’s car driving up. As they honked the horn, Ellie said, “Elena, there they are.”

“I want you to get everything you’re looking for, but right now I want you to forget that this happened. I can’t have people knowing I’m in town yet.” Damon said and Ellie turned to look at him in confusion and saw Elena staring at him in a trance like state.

“Ele-”

He was in front of her before she could finish her sister’s name. “You’ll also forget that this happened and you’ll go on blissfully ignorant to this conversation. Good night, Ellie… Elena.” Ellie blinked, confused for a split second before she saw her parents' car behind them.

“So, did you girls have a good time at the party you skipped family night for?” Their mom asked, clearly not upset but very much teasing.

“Oh, it was a blast until Elena kidnapped me because she didn’t want to be here anymore.” Ellie teased and Elena shoved her arm and stuck out her tongue in retaliation. 

“Be nice girls.” Their father scolded lightly, and Ellie could see the smile he was fighting.

“Well it is her fault dad! She was the one that made me come with her in the first place.” Elena gasped dramatically as Ellie ratted her out and their parents were grinning in the front.

Miranda looked serious for a moment and then said, “Well then, I suppose her punishment should be that she has to be on Aunt Jenna’s team for pictionary then.” Miranda and Ellie shared a mischievous grin with one another as Elena groaned.

“Ah yes, should be Jenna, Elena, and Jeremy.” Grayson said to Elena’s dismay.

They were all joking around on the drive and with a sudden urge to express her affection, Ellie leaned forward between the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat and said, “Mom, dad, you guys know that I love you so much, right?”

Miranda looked at her daughter and placed a hand on her cheek. “I love you too sweetheart, more than anything in this world.” Miranda pressed a kiss to Ellie’s cheek before looking back at Elena, “And I love you more than anything too Elena.” The other girl was texting away on her phone, no doubt with Bonnie, but she returned the affection.

Grayson looked at Ellie with a bright smile. Pressing a kiss to her cheek as well he told her, “I love you to infinity Ellie.” He repeated the sentiment to Elena and then it was a gasp and screams and the terrifying feeling of falling as the car flew off the bridge unexpectedly. Ellie could hear her mother’s scream as they hit the water, but she’d hit her head and it was hard to open her eyes to look at her mom. She felt the water filling up in the car and her parents saying they loved her and screaming for her to wake up, to open her eyes, but she couldn’t. A cold realization that she was going to die washed over her and despite being sixteen, she couldn’t find it in her to be afraid. She just hoped that Jeremy and Jenna would be ok after the four of them in the car were dead. And then… all at once… everything faded away.

* * *

_September 7, 2009_

_Dear Diary,_

_Today is the first day of the school year, which means it’s back to sympathetic looks of people who don’t know me enough to talk to me, and the customary ‘how are you’ and ‘how are you feeling’ from people that do. It won’t be easy, I know. I’m more worried about Elena and Jeremy than I am for myself. Elena… She’s been practicing how to smile so that people believe she’s fine. She told me that her smile will say ‘I’m fine, thank you’ and ‘yes, I feel much better’. She tells me that she won’t be the sad little girl that lost her parents and that she’ll start fresh, be someone new. I’m not entirely sure that it’s a healthy healing method for her._

_She’s been pushing herself to be how she was before, and no matter how much I tell her that it’s alright for her to not be, she still does it. I think what happened, and her attempts to be normal on top of that, have brought out the bossier parts of her personality, but I’m here to try and bring it down when she goes too far. And then there’s Jeremy… he’s even worse. My sweet baby brother has taken to drugs and alcohol like a fish to water. Whether it’s weed, or prescription pills, or cheap alcohol, or the expensive stuff, he takes whatever he can get. But I know that if I do nothing but harp on him that it’ll just make it worse. Elena, I don’t think she’s realized that. So for now I guess she’s the bad cop to my good cop._

_As for me… I’m working on it. I’m not the same person I was before the accident, but I’ll be ok. No matter what I’m going to make sure that Elena and Jeremy get better, heaven knows Jenna is gonna need the help. But I guess that’s all for now, I gotta get downstairs._

“Good morning Aunt Jenna.” Ellie said with a grin as she pressed a kiss to the blonde’s cheek.

“Good morning, I’m gonna make you guys breakfast.” Jenna said as she opened up the cabinets and Ellie went to start the coffee.

As the coffee filled up, Ellie watched her aunt stare into the fridge. Just as the coffee finished, Elena appeared and Jenna stated, “Toast, I can make toast.”

“It’s _all_ about the coffee Aunt Jenna.” Elena informed her as Ellie passed her twin an already filled cup of coffee.

“Is there coffee?” Jeremy asked as he strolled in.

“Your first day of school and I’m totally unprepared.” Jenna said as she dug through her bag and Jeremy stole the coffee cup from Elena’s hand. Ellie grinned at Elena’s annoyed look as she poured her sister another cup. “Lunch money?”

“I’m good.” Elena said as Jeremy snatched the money from Jenna’s hands and split it when Ellie held up her palm.

“Anything else?” Jenna questioned. “A number two pencil? What am I missing?”

“Don’t you have a big presentation today?” Ellie questioned as Elena nodded along.

“I’m meeting with my thesis advisor at… now. _Crap_!” Jenna said as she hastily pulled down her hair from the messy bun it had been in.

“Then go, we’ll be fine.” Ellie assured her and with a sigh, Jenna was out the door in a rush.

Elena turned to Jeremy, who was sipping on his coffee. “You ok?”

Jeremy scoffed at her. “Don’t start.” He walked off, taking his coffee with him and Ellie noticed the news on TV, an update on some couple named Darren Malloy and Brooke Fenton, before turning to Elena.

“He’s gonna be fine, Elena, stuff just takes time.” Ellie consoled her twin, who nodded dejectedly and sipped her coffee. They grabbed their things when Bonnie honked the horn and Ellie called out to Jeremy, “We’re gone! Do _not_ skip school!” 

Despite being happy to see Bonnie, she kind of checked out of the conversation and just stared out of the window, at least, until she heard Bonnie say, “So Grams is telling me I’m psychic. Our ancestors were from Salem, which isn’t all that, I know, crazy, but she’s going on and on about it, and I’m like, put this woman in a home already! But then I started thinking, I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger, and I still think Florida will break off and turn into tiny resort islands. Elena!” Bonnie called and Ellie saw her sister snap to attention. “Back in the car.”

“I did it again, didn’t I? I..I’m sorry, Bonnie. You were telling me that-”

“That I’m psychic now.” Bonnie supplied.

“Right.” Elena said dubiously. “Ok, then predict something. About me.”

Bonnie huffed dramatically before saying, “I see-” Something hit the window and all three of them gasped as Bonnie hit the breaks. The seatbelt choked Ellie as she jerked forward before she was slammed back into her seat. The tires squealed as the car skidded to a stop. “What was that?” Bonnie asked frantically. “Oh my god! Elena, are you ok?”

“It’s ok, I’m fine.” Elena replied as she tried to slow her breathing.

“Ellie?” Bonnie asked and Ellie could see how upset her friend was about what happened.

“I’m good.”

“It was like a bird or something. It came out of nowhere.” Bonnie said in a rush, the guilt written all over her face.

“Really, we can’t be freaked out by cars for the rest of our lives.” Elena said and Ellie felt a swell of pride for her twin, she was really trying to get better and comfort Bonnie at the same time.

“I predict this year is going to be kick ass. And I predict that all the sad and dark times are over and the two of you are going to be beyond happy.” Bonnie declared and Elena smiled softly at her friend. After a beat, they pulled back onto the road and kept going. As they walked down the hallway Bonnie said, “Major lack of male real estate. Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beach. She looks… can I still say ‘tranny mess’?”

“No, that’s over.” Elena decided as she leaned against the lockers.

“Ahh, find a man, coin a phrase, it’s a busy year.” Bonnie grinned before her attention was drawn to something behind the twins. They turned in unison to see Matt looking longingly at Elena. She gave him a wave and he just turned and pulled his history book from his locker before walking off.

With a sad sigh, Elena turned back to Bonnie and complained, “He hates me.”

“That’s not hate. That’s ‘you dumped me, but I’m too cool to show it, but secretly I’m listening to Air Supply’s Greatest Hits.” Bonnie informed her and despite feeling bad for Matt, Ellie couldn’t stop her choked laughter.

“Ellie! Oh my god! How are you?” Caroline asked as she swept Ellie up into a fierce hug. “Elena!” After she hugged them both she pulled back and said, “Oh, it’s _so_ good to see you.” She turned to look at Bonnie. “How are they? Are they good?”

“Caroline, we’re right here. And we’re fine. Thank you.” Elena responded.

“Really?” Caroline questioned.

“Yes. Much better.” Elena continued and Ellie suppressed a sigh from how fake it sounded.

“Oh, you poor thing.” Caroline said as she hugged Elena again.

“Ok, Caroline.” Elena huffed out, obviously being hugged too tightly.

Caroline pulled back, “Ok, see you guys later?” She questioned 

“Ok, bye.” Elena said, a fake smile plastered all over her face. “No comment. I’m not going to say anything.”

The trio walked down the hallway and Bonnie pulled them to a stop, staring into the office. “Hold up, who’s this?”

“All I see is back.” Ellie and Elena replied.

“It’s a hot back.” Bonnie corrected and the twins laughed. “I’m sensing Seattle, and he plays the guitar.”

Elena scoffed. “You’re really gonna run this whole psychic thing into the ground, huh?”

“Pretty much.” Bonnie admitted.

“Jeremy, good batch man.” Someone called and the twins looked up to see their brother turning down the hallway.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Elena, don’t.” Ellie warned, hot on the heels of her twin as she stormed after him.

“Whoa, pants down chick.” Some guy said as Elena grabbed Jeremy’s face.

“Great. It’s the first day of school and you’re stoned.” Elena scolded.

“No, I’m not.”

“Where is it? Is it on you?” Elena said frantically, searching through Jeremy’s pockets as he tried to fight her off.

“Stop, alright? You need to chill yourself, alright?”

“Chill myself? What is that, stoner talk? Dude, you are _so_ cool.” Elena said condescendingly.

“Look, stop! I don’t have anything on me. Are you crazy?” Jeremy asked her.

“You haven’t seen crazy, Jeremy!” Elena snapped despite Ellie’s pleas for her to stop. “I gave you a summer pass, but I am done watching you destroy yourself.” Jeremy made a move to leave, but Elena pushed him back down. “No, no, no, you know what? Go ahead, keep it up, but just know that I am going to be there to ruin your buzz every time. You got it?” The toilet flushed and some guy stepped out, quickly leaving the bathroom to avoid the family drama. “Jeremy, I know who you are. And it’s not this person. So don’t be this person.”

“I don’t need this.” Jeremy hissed, clearly angry at Elena’s confrontation and stormed out of the bathroom.

“Elena.” Ellie said with a shake of her head.

“I don’t want to hear it.” Elena said before heading out of the bathroom as well. By the time Ellie stepped out of the bathroom, Elena and a guy that could only be the new guy were in some sort of staring contest.

He looked between the twins and then at the bathroom door. “Um… is this the men’s room?” He asked them, although he seemed more focused on Elena. Ellie couldn’t help but roll her eyes a little. Who wasn’t focused more on Elena? She listened to Elena stutter in front of the very attractive boy, before simply telling him that it was a long story. Elena moved to step out of his way, only for him to step in the same direction. Ellie watched their little dance until the boy finally just stopped and signaled for Elena to go ahead. He smiled at Ellie and waited for her to pass as well.

They turned to look back at him before they turned down the hallway, to see him staring back at them as well. As soon as they did, Ellie busted out into a fit of giggles as Elena blushed. “Oh my god! You totally have a crush on him, Elena!”

“I interacted with him for like half a second and I couldn’t even say anything.” Elena complained.

“Exactly! Oh my god I can’t wait to tell Bonnie.” Ellie said in delight as Elena groaned.

* * *

“Once our home state of Virginia joined the Confederacy in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state. People in Virginia’s northwest region had different ideals than those from the traditional deep south. Then Virginia divided in 1863 with the northwest region joining the Union.” Tanner was teaching as Ellie quickly scribbled down her notes, glancing over to her sister just as she turned back towards the front and smiling after looking over at the new boy. Ellie could see him staring at Elena while she pretended to pay attention. 

Bonnie obviously noticed because Elena opened a message from the girl that read: ‘ _HAWT-E. STARING @ U.’_ Elena only grinned as she leaned forward in her seat.

By the time class ended, Ellie was about to bang her head on her desk from the back and forth staring between her twin and the new guy. By the time school was out, she felt like she’d seen or bumped into said new guy about a thousand times. Maybe it was because he was new that she was more aware of him, but it was kind of bizarre nonetheless. By the time the sun started to set, Caroline had destroyed her plans of just relaxing at home and finishing the book she’d been reading.

So here she was at The Grill with Caroline and Bonnie as Caroline spilled all the information she’d gathered on their newest student and Elena’s potential new beau. “His name is Stefan Salvatore. He lives with his uncle up at the old Salvatore Boarding House. He hasn’t lived here since he was a kid. Military family, so they moved around a lot. He’s a gemini, and his favorite color is blue.” Caroline told them.

Bonnie was beyond surprised at the amount of information. “You got all of that in one day?” Bonnie questioned.

Ellie scoffed, “Please, you should never doubt Caroline and her ability to discover things.”

“Oh, please, I got all of that between third and fourth period.” Caroline added smugly. “We’re planning a June wedding.” Ellie laughed at that and Caroline just grinned at her. “You’ll be the maid of honor, of course.”

“I’d be honored.” Ellie replied and then Caroline was off to greet some other people.

Eventually Bonnie and Ellie found themselves sitting with Matt. He, of course, didn’t wait long to ask what was so obviously on his mind. “How’s Elena doing?”

“Her mom and dad died. How do you think?” Bonnie told him, before she seemed to realize that Ellie was sitting there as well and looked terribly apologetic. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that.”

Ellie waved her off. “You aren’t wrong.” Looking at Matt she added, “She’s putting on a good face, but it’s only been four months. She’s been more preoccupied with making everyone think she’s ok rather than actually being ok.”

“Has she said anything about me?” Matt asked pitifully.

“Oh, no.” The two girls refused immediately. “So not getting in the middle. You pick up the phone and call her.” Bonnie told him.

“I feel weird calling her. She broke up with me.”

“Give it more time, Matt.” Bonnie suggested with a shrug. Of course, Elena’s god awful timing meant that she strolled through the door, looking entirely content and happy being with Stefan.

“More time, huh?” Ellie sighed as she watched Matt stand up and walk over to them, and if she hadn’t known Matt so well she would have been afraid that he was going to start something. “Hey, I’m Matt, nice to meet you.” He greeted and held out his hand for Stefan to shake.

“Hi. Stefan.”

“Hey.” Elena said brightly, although Ellie could see the awkwardness.

“Hey.” Matt repeated before walking off.

Elena and Stefan made their way over to Ellie and Bonnie where they made the introductions. Caroline was quick to pull up a seat beside Bonnie and jumped headfirst into her quizzing of Stefan. “So, you were born in Mystic Falls?”

“Mmhmm, and moved when I was still young.” Stefan replied.

“Parents?”

“My parents passed away.” He told her and Ellie felt a sharp pang of empathy. It wasn’t an easy thing to deal with and she didn’t know if she’d be able to so easily admit that strangers like he did.

He glanced at Elena and from the corner of her eye she could see Bonnie give him a suspicious look as Elena told him, “I’m sorry. Any siblings?”

“None that I talk to. I live with my uncle.”

Caroline noticed the way Stefan seemed to be more focused on Elena, rather than her, so she cut in. “So, Stefan, if you’re new, then you don’t know about the party tomorrow.”

“It’s a back to school thing at The Falls.” Ellie supplied.

“Are the two of you going?” Stefan asked her as his focus bounced between her and Elena.

Before Elena or Ellie could even be surprised, Bonnie gleefully informed him, “Of course they are.” His focus was back to being solely on Elena and she sent Bonnie a pleased smile as he smiled softly at her. The rest of the evening was spent with the majority of Stefan’s attention being on Elena and Caroline desperately trying to get him to focus on her.

* * *

Sitting in history with Tanner, who for whatever reason seemed to really dislike the Gilberts was bad enough for Ellie, but him droning on about the Civil War was somehow worse than normal and she was desperate for anything to distract her from bashing her head against the desk. “The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle?” He asked. “Ms. Bennett?” Bonnie jerked her head up to look at him from where she was taking notes.

“Um… a lot?” She guessed and Ellie snorted under her breath. “I’m not sure. Like a whole lot.”

“Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett.” Tanner told her and Ellie rolled her eyes. He was a huge jackass and she wasn’t really sure why he was a teacher. “Mr. Donovan.” Pour Matt was the next victim. “Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?”

“It’s ok, Mr. Tanner, I’m cool with it.” Matt informed him.

Several kids in class chuckled, but Tanner had already picked his next target. “Elena?” He questioned. “Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town’s most significantly historical events?”

“I’m sorry, I… I don’t know.” Elena admitted.

“I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reason, Elena, but the personal excuses ended with summer break.” Tanner said and Ellie felt pure rage burning a hole in her chest.

She opened her mouth to rip Tanner a new one, but Stefan had already started talking. “There were 346 casualties, unless you’re counting local civilians.” Stefan looked supremely unimpressed with their teacher, and it was enough to pull Ellie out of her blind rage.

“That’s correct. Mister…” Tanner trailed off.

“Salvatore.” Stefan supplied.

“Salvatore… any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?”

“Distant.”

“Well, very good. Except of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle.” Tanner corrected.

“Actually, there were 27, sir.” Stefan told him and Ellie, along with everyone else, seemed to sit up in their seats a little bit more. No one corrected Tanner, ever. “Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The Founder’s Archives are, uh, stored in Civil Hall if you’d like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner.” Ellie was certain her jaw was on the floor. She could see Elena have a similar reaction and she decided then and there that she very much liked this guy.

After school finally ended, Caroline had picked Ellie up to take her to the party, and eventually Ellie had found her way to her sister and Bonnie. “Just admit it, Elena.” Bonnie told her.

“Oh, ok, so he’s a _little_ pretty.” Elena conceded.

“He has that romance novel stare.” Bonnie informed her. “ _Stefan looked deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul._ ” Bonnie said dramatically, causing the duo to burst into laughter. “So where is he?” 

“I don’t know.” Elena shrugged. “You tell me, you’re the psychic one.”

“Right! I forgot. Ok, give me a sec. Grams says I have to concentrate.” Bonnie said as she closed her eyes.

“Wait! You need a crystal ball.” Elena said mock-seriously. “Ta-da.” She said as she picked up a beer bottle. Bonnie grinned and went to take the bottle, when her eyes shot wide open and she froze, almost like she was in a trance. Elena and Ellie looked at each other with concern before Bonnie yanked her hand away violently. “What?”

“That was weird.” Bonnie said. “When I touched you, I saw a crow.”

“What?” The twins asked.

“A crow. There was fog, a man.” Bonnie continued before shaking her head. “I’m drunk.” She excused. “It’s the drinking. There’s nothing psychic about it. Yeah? Ok, I’m gonna get a refill.” Bonnie said before making her quick escape. Elena looked quite freaked out, which Ellie found confusing.

“Ok... Bonnie!” Elena called after their friend but she just kept going.

When they turned back the other way, Stefan was standing before them. “Hi.” He greeted, his soft smile directed at Elena.

“Hi.” She said, grinning brightly.

“I did it again, didn’t I?” Stefan asked and Ellie was confused. When had it happened the first time?

“Yeah.” Elena confirmed.

“I’m sorry.” He seemed to notice Elena’s mood. “You’re upset about something.”

“Oh, uh, no it’s.. It’s Bonnie. She’s…” Elena trailed off and seemed to decide to change the subject. “You know what? Never mind, you’re… you’re here.”

“I’m here.” He confirmed.

“And I am going to be anywhere _but_ here.” Ellie said before she dashed off. She found Matt hanging with some of the guys from the football team and sat down next to him. “You ok?”

Matt slung his arm around her shoulders. “Yeah, I’m good, just you know…” He trailed off and they allowed Caroline to come and drag them off.

“Are you trying to eavesdrop Care?” Ellie asked as she spotted Elena and Stefan on the bridge. “We’re never gonna hear anything from here.”

“Well, maybe I can see what they’re saying or something.” She said, and it wasn’t long before Stefan went off quickly and Elena was alone for a moment before walking off in the same direction. Then, like clockwork, Caroline and Matt left as well.

“I wish Matt would realize that he shouldn’t put himself through this.” Ellie complained as she and Bonnie strolled back towards the main party.

“Elena was his first love, is it really surprising that he wants her back?” Bonnie asked softly.

Shaking her head, Ellie said, “No, it’s not, but him being so in love with her made him not see that she wasn’t into him anymore months before she finally broke up with him.”

“Well if Caroline had it her way, Stefan would be all hers.”

“Can you blame her? He’s gorgeous and definitely has that mystery guy vibe going on.” Ellie shrugged. “Even still, Matt is like an all around good guy, he deserves better.” Bonnie nodded in agreement. By the time the duo wandered back to the main party, Elena and Stefan were talking again. Ellie saw her sister’s change in mood and followed her gaze to see Jeremy drunkenly walking into the woods. When Elena moved to go after Jeremy, she was quick to follow.

“Jeremy.” Elena called. “Jeremy! Jeremy, where the hell are you going?” 

Ellie kept Elena upright when she nearly tripped on a branch as Jeremy snapped, “I don’t want to hear it!”

“Yeah, well too bad.” Elena said, but stopped short as Jeremy turned and fell.

“Vicki? No.” Jeremy gasped as they found her body, a bloodied wound on her neck. “Oh my god, it’s Vicki.”

“Oh my god.” Elena had a look of pure terror on her face as Jeremy’s shaking hand reached down to check for a pulse.

Vicki gasped awake and Ellie began to frantically tell Jeremy to pick her up. “Somebody help!” Ellie screamed as they helped to make sure Jeremy didn’t lose his grip.

Matt’s voice reached through the crowd. “Vicki? Vicki, what the hell?” He yelled as he ran towards them.

“What happened to her?” Tyler asked as the newly formed group got her onto a table.

“Somebody call an ambulance!” Matt screamed.

“Everybody back up! Give her some space!” Tyler commanded.

“It’s her neck. Something bit her.” Elena explained frantically. “She’s losing a lot of blood. It’s bad.”

“Put this on her neck.” Someone said and Ellie took the offered item, pressing it firmly against the wound.

“Elena hold it in place.” Ellie ordered as she let go and pulled off the old tank top she wore from under her shirt. “Put this on top to try and slow it down.”

“Vicki, Vicki, come on, open your eyes, look at me.” Matt begged. People were speaking frantically around her, but Ellie was focused on keeping a track of Vicki’s pulse. It was slower than it should be and it terrified her, she couldn’t handle another person dying so soon.

She wasn’t sure when the authorities arrived, but Vicki was whisked off but paramedics and she found herself standing with Elena, watching as Matt climbed into the ambulance after Vicki. There were police cars and ambulances and animal control units everywhere, but Bonnie’s voice pulled her focus from the ambulance taking Matt and Vicki away. “Hey, we’re gonna go mainline coffee, wait for news.” Bonnie told them.

“I gotta take Jeremy home.” Elena replied as she glanced back to her drunk and scared brother.

“Elena,” Bonnie said seriously, “there’s no way I’m psychic. I know that. But whatever I saw, or I think I saw, I have this feeling…”

“Bonnie, what?”

“That it’s just the beginning.” Bonnie admitted.

Their friend started to walk off when Ellie called out, “Wait, let me go with you, I wanna make sure Care gets sobered up before she gets home.” Turning to Elena, she reminded her, “Whatever you say to Jer, go easy on him.” Elena nodded and Ellie went off with her two friends. The car ride to The Grill was mostly silent, save for the very soft music playing from the radio. Caroline was sometimes a whiny drunk so she wouldn’t have liked the silence much nor would she have liked normal music.

When they got to their destination, the three of them sat at a table, coffee in front of all of them, as Bonnie and Ellie waited for the blonde to sober up. Caroline had already drunk all of her coffee, so Ellie wordlessly gave the blonde hers as well. “Are you sober yet?” Bonnie asked Caroline, who had buried her head in her hands.

The blonde inhaled sharply, looking up, before sighing. “No.” She huffed, before burying her face in her hands again.

“Keep drinking. I gotta get you and Ellie home. I gotta get me home.” Bonnie said with a soft laugh.

“Why didn’t he go for me?” Caroline asked suddenly, and Ellie knew immediately she meant Stefan. “You know, how come, the guys that I want never want me?”

“I’m not touching that.” Bonnie said with a shake of her head.

“I’m inappropriate. I always say the wrong thing. And… Elena always says the right thing.” Caroline explained. “She doesn’t even try! And he just picks her. And she’s always the one that everyone picks, for everything. And I try so hard, and… I’m never the one.”

“It’s not a competition, Caroline.” Bonnie replied.

Caroline paused for a moment, before she glanced at Bonnie. “Yeah, it is.” She corrected and Ellie couldn’t help the swell of empathy she felt. Bonnie might not have known what Caroline was talking about, but she very much did. The blonde might have seemed uptight and bitchy to most people, but Ellie knew the insecurities that lurked underneath the facade and she knew how much the other girl struggled with being in Elena’s shadow.

With a sigh, Bonnie just said, “I’m gonna go pay the bill. You wanna come Ellie?” Nodding, Ellie followed Bonnie to the counter and silently prayed that tomorrow would be better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first story I've ever posted on this site and I'm pretty nervous. Please let me know how you guys like it. I've got several chapters already written so the next chapter should be up by next week at the latest. If you guys want me to post sooner please let me know!


	2. The Night of The Comet

**Chapter 2: The Night of The Comet**

_September 9, 2009_

_Dear Diary,_

_I have a feeling that today will be different. It must be something with Elena, I can feel it. Vicki was attacked last night, I have no idea what might have caused it. Jeremy was terrified, I know he has strong feelings for her. I think I heard him sneak out earlier, he probably headed to the hospital. I hope that she’ll be ok, I’ll probably ask Matt to go with him to visit her. Bonnie also seemed pretty freaked after the stuff from last night as well. Hopefully last night was just a weird one and today will be better._

With a small nod, Ellie put her diary away and headed out of her room. She nearly stepped into Elena, but they both stopped when Jenna stopped them. “Mmm, do I look adult? As in respectfully parental?” She questioned them.

“Depends where you’re going.” Elena told her.

“Jeremy’s parent-teacher conference.” Jenna said as she went to check over her appearance in the mirror. “Hair up or down?”

“Sexy stewardess.” Ellie commented when Jenna pulled her hair up for them to see.

“Boozy housewife.” Elena added when Jenna let her hair down.

Ellie nearly choked on her laugh as Jenna said, “Up it is. You’re feisty today.”

“I feel good, which is rare. So I’ve decided to go with it.” Elena admitted, a bright grin on her face. “Fly free, walk on sunshine, and all that stuff.”

“Most likely has something to do with the super hot new guy that’s definitely into Elena.” Ellie told her aunt with a wicked grin.

“ _Ellie!_ ” Elena hissed, but she was fighting a smile.

“Oooo, super hot new guy is it? How hot?” Jenna questioned.

“Definitely a ten. Elena’s been making heart eyes at him since she saw him. He defended her in history.” Ellie singsonged. 

Jenna nodded sagely. “Ah yes, the beginning of young love.”

“Of course, they’ll have three kids and a small dog that barks all the time and of course the white picket fence.” Ellie added as she and Jenna laughed.

Elena ignored them, opting to ask, “Where’s Jeremy?”

“He left early.” Jenna told her. “Something about getting to woodshop early to finish a birdhouse.” When she saw Elena’s confused expression she asked, “There is no wood shop, is there?”

“No.” The twins informed her.

“Yeah.” Jenna said with a sigh. Shortly after, Bonnie arrived with a honk of her horn and the girls were off.

Classes seemed to fly by, even history went by uneventfully. The only thing that had happened in history was Tanner calling her sister and her new beau out for not paying attention, which was kind of amusing in all honesty. But now she was going down the hallway with Caroline and Bonnie as the latter tried to explain what exactly she was supposed to be. “Wait, I’m confused.” Caroline said. “Are you psychic or clairvoyant?”

“Technically, Grams says I’m a witch.” Bonnie explained. “My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something. Grams tried to explain it all, but she was looped on the liquor so I kinda tuned out. Crazy family, yes. Witches? I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, well, feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night.” Caroline told her.

“We didn’t see him Care, you did.” Ellie said as she slung her arm over the blonde’s shoulders as the trio smiled.

“Why didn’t you just talk to him?” Bonnie questioned.

“I don’t know. I was drunk.” Caroline admitted unabashedly.

The girls giggled at that as Ellie added, “Well then maybe you should lay off the alcohol so you don’t miss your mystery man next time.” As they stepped outside, Ellie saw Matt ahead of them and quickly excused herself from the girls. “Matt!” She called and he turned to face her. When she saw his expression she was quick to pull him into a fierce hug. “She’s gonna be ok, right?” Matt nodded once and Ellie added, “Are _you_ gonna be ok?”

He sighed and confessed. “I just feel like I should have been protecting her. Maybe if I’d been more careful, kept a better eye on her, that she wouldn’t have been attacked by whatever it was.”

She looped her arm through his and leaned into him, “Matt, you can’t think like that. Say you had been with her, who knows what could have happened. Yes maybe you could have protected her, or maybe you would have been attacked as well, or maybe even killed. There are so many ‘what ifs’ that it’ll drive you crazy to think like that, believe me, I’ve gone through plenty of them myself. It’s not healthy.”

He gave her a look and she just smiled softly at him, she knew he understood. Elena appeared before them and fell into step on the other side of Matt. “Hey,” She greeted. “How is she?”

“They’re keeping her overnight to make sure there’s no infection, but she should be able to come home tomorrow.” Matt told them.

“That’s good news.”

“Yeah.” Matt agreed.

“Did you get in touch with your mom?” Elena inquired. Both she and Ellie knew that his mom was a touchy subject, the woman wasn’t exactly a stable guardian and was gone more often than not, but they both knew that he could probably really benefit from his mom being there.

“Called and left a message. She’s in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend so… we’ll see how long it takes her to come rushing home.” Matt said and Ellie hugged his arm a little bit tighter to try and comfort her friend.

With a sigh, Elena told him, “Vicki’s lucky that she’s ok.”

“I know, and now there’s some talk of some missing campers.”

“Really?” Ellie questioned. “I wonder what’s going on that’s causing all this stuff to happen. Did she say what kind of animal it was that attacked her?”

“She said it was a vampire.” Matt admitted.

“What?” The girls asked disbelievingly.

“Yeah, she wakes up last night and mutters ‘vampire’ and then passes out.”

“Ok, that is weird.” Elena told him.

Ellie just shook her head. “It’s probably just whatever pain meds they had her on. Blood loss and drugs can make a really weird combination.”

Matt agreed and added, “I think she was drunk. So what’s up with you and the new guy?”

She and Elena both glanced to where Stefan was sitting on a table with his back to them before Elena said, “Matt, the last thing I want to do is hurt you.”

It was definitely the wrong thing to say. Matt just kind of shook his head before saying, “You know I’m… I’m actually gonna go back to the hospital. I wanna be there when Vicki wakes up, get the real story about last night.”

“Ok.” Elena said as she clutched her books a little tighter.

“Here, Matt I’ll come with you, I wanna check on her.” Ellie told him and then they left Elena by herself. As they made their way to the truck, Ellie couldn’t help but comment. “If Elena can’t see what a great guy you are Matty, then she doesn’t deserve you.”

Matt laughed at her statement. “She’s your sister, literally your twin, shouldn’t you be on her side?” He asked her as they drove towards the hospital.

“Just because I’m her twin doesn’t mean I’m gonna act like she wasn’t an idiot to let you go. You’re an amazing guy, it was her loss.” Ellie informed him. “Honestly you could do better.” Matt was so surprised that he just stared at her.

After a moment, he just grinned and said, “Thanks, I needed that.” The rest of the ride was filled with easy conversation as Ellie tried to keep Matt’s worry from completely taking over his thoughts. Once they found a parking spot, they were quick to get into the hospital and headed straight for Vicki’s room. As they turned down the hallway she was on, Ellie could have sworn she saw someone lurking in the shadows, but ignored the feeling and followed Matt into Vicki’s room.

“Um… where is she?” Ellie asked as they walked in to see an empty bed.

They both turned only to find Vicki standing directly behind them, Ellie let out a small yelp as she stepped behind Matt. “Whoa, Vic. Vicki, hey.” Matt said as they took in the blank stare she had. “Vic, it’s Matt. Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked as he leaned towards her a bit, trying to get her to snap out of her trance.

When he put his hands on her arms she started to freak out, her screaming startling Ellie. “No! No! Get off!” Vicki was screaming, the terror on her face horrifying to watch. “No! No!”

She got out of Matt’s hold and just kept screaming, so Matt snatched Ellie's hand and they took off running as he called for a nurse. They ran down the hallway and nearly skidded to a stop when they found a doctor and nurse. “Nurse! I need help, it’s my sister.” Matt explained and they immediately started to run back to the room, the nurse running behind them.

When they reached the room, Matt and Ellie were extremely confused to find Vicki sleeping peacefully in her bed. “She seems fine.” The nurse told them.

“But just a second ago she was-” Ellie trailed off when she saw Matt staring at something down the hallway. “Matt, where are you going?” She asked as she followed her blonde friend out of the room and down the hallway. “Matt?”

“Hang on.” He told her but she followed him anyways. Who was that up ahead in the hallway? Was that Stefan? The potentially Stefan turned into a room and Ellie sped up her pace to keep up with Matt. When they walked in, there were people sitting in chairs donating blood, but no Stefan. It looked like there was a person standing behind a curtain, and Matt went and jerked it open, but there was no one there, only an open window. “You saw him, right?” He asked her as he looked around the room to make sure he didn’t miss him.

“I think I did. Why would Stefan be here?” Ellie asked. Any conversation was cut short when Caroline sent her a text saying to come outside because she was roping Ellie into helping prepare for the comet. “I gotta go, Caroline…” She told him and he nodded absentmindedly. “Are you gonna be ok?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Ok, let me know if you or Vicki need anything.” With that, she left the sweet football player and met Caroline outside. “You know, I don’t really need to help you with this.”

Caroline scoffed. “Of course you do, besides, has Elena spilled the juicy details about her rendezvous with Stefan yet?”

“Her what?”

“Oh, so she hasn’t. Come on, I wanna know if they had sex in the next room over from you.” Caroline teased as Ellie gagged. 

“That’s actually disgusting Caroline.” Ellie told her.

They sat outside The Grill folding the little pamphlets for the comet as Elena explained how, no, she and Stefan didn’t have sex last night. They didn’t even kiss. Bonnie ended up getting off track and said, “Well, I was talking to Grams, and she said that the comet is a sign of impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity.”

Ellie was fascinated, it was so interesting and she’d always had a thing for paranormal stuff. Before she could ask Bonnie more, Caroline sassed, “Yeah, and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about the aliens.” Ellie kicked the blonde under the table and glared. “What? I’m not wrong.” Caroline turned back to Elena. “So then what?”

“So then nothing.” Elena denied.

“You and Stefan talked all night?” Caroline asked dubiously. “There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind?”

“Nope. We didn’t go there.” Elena informed her.

“Not even a handshake?” Caroline said skeptically. Ellie had to laugh at that. The thought of the most romantic thing Stefan and Elena doing was a handshake left an entertaining image. “I mean, Elena, we are your friends. Ok? You are supposed to share the smut.”

“We just talked for hours.” Elena insisted.

“Ok, what is with the blockage?” Caroline questioned. “Just jump his bones already! Ok, it’s easy. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy. _Sex._ ” 

“Profound Care.” Ellie said with a roll of her eyes. She watched as her twin contemplated something, before making a decision and started to grab her things. “Elena?”

“Where are you going?” Bonnie asked staring at Elena with wide eyes.

“Caroline’s right. It is easy. If I sit here long enough, I’ll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying I was going to do.” Elena told her and Ellie looked at her twin in disbelief.

“You started the day saying you were gonna just screw everything to hell and bang Stefan?” Ellie inquired. Elena shot her a playful dirty look but grinned and walked off, presumably to Stefan’s. “Who are you and what did you do to my sister?” She asked Caroline as the blonde smiled victoriously.

“Well maybe now Elena will give into all her desires so I can focus on getting you a man.” Caroline said with a saccharine smile. Ellie just scoffed and threw a crumpled napkin at the girl. “I’m not wrong. I mean come _on_ how have you never even dated anyone? You and Elena are gorgeous and yet while she’s out here getting Mister Tall, Dark, and Handsome, you’re sitting here being all lonely and sad.”

“I am not lonely and sad!” Ellie denied and Caroline just shot her a look. “I’m not!”

“Then what are you waiting for? Prince Charming?” Caroline asked. “You could have any guy you wanted and yet… nothing.”

Ellie just shrugged. “I don’t know. None of the guys here catch my attention I guess. We’ve known all of these guys for forever so I guess I just don’t see them like that? And the first fresh blood we got, Elena snatched him straight up.” She glanced at Bonnie and said, “Come on, you said it yourself, major lack of male real estate.”

“Yeah. We are lacking. Maybe there will be some other new guy that catches your eye. But it couldn’t hurt to try and set you up with someone.” Bonnie admitted which resulted in her getting a napkin thrown at her as well.

“Shut up! You two are single too.” Ellie said in her defense. “But anyways tell me more about the comet.” Bonnie explained to them about everything her Grams had said before the conversation drifted off onto more trivial things. 

As the sun set, Ellie sat up on the kitchen counter as Elena recounted what had happened at the Salvatore Boarding House. “He’s on the rebound and has raging family issues.” Elena sighed as she poured the chocolate sauce onto her ice cream.

“Well, at least it’s an ex-girlfriend.” Ellie said with a shrug as she dug into her own ice cream.

Jenna nodded in agreement, “Wait till you date a guy with mommy issues.” Jenna warned. “Or cheating issues. Or an amphetamine issues.” Elena and Ellie both winced at that one. It didn’t sound fun. Ellie could hear the small creak of the front door and she saw Jenna’s expression go from playful to pissed in an instant. “Jeremy!” Jenna yelled. “Jeremy, where were you?”

“More stoner stories?” Jeremy asked as Ellie walked up beside her aunt. “Look, Jenna, I get it. You were cool. And so that’s… that’s cool.” Jeremy said giving her a thumbs up and obviously stoned out of his mind.

“Oh, no, no, no!” Jenna yelled and before Ellie could process what was happening, the apple was flying out of Jenna’s hand, whacking the back of Jeremy’s head much to Ellie’s surprise.

“Ow! Why?” Jeremy complained. “Wh-Why did you do that?”

“Listen up! Quit ditching class or you’re grounded. No discussion.” Jenna told him.

“Parental authority. I like it.” Jeremy said with a grin. “Sleep tight.” He told her with another thumbs up before going upstairs. Jenna looked at Ellie and the younger girl just shrugged. She had no idea what Jeremy was on but he was bizarrely mellow.

* * *

“Tonight! Night of the comet! Would you like a program?” Ellie asked as she handed the program to a married couple. Bonnie and Elena repeated phrases similar to people as they walked past. 

They had just given flyers to a group of three people as Bonnie questioned, “He didn’t call, huh?”

“Or text.” Elena admitted as she handed a flyer to a couple. “But then I realized we never even exchanged that stuff. We’ve never gotten to the texting part.”

“That’s an important milestone in any relationship.” Bonnie told her and Ellie rolled her eyes a little and whacked Elena with the flyers she held.

“All this moping over Stefan that I’ve endured and you didn’t even bother to exchange numbers? I suffered for nothing!” Ellie whined and Elena grinned at her.

Ignoring her, Elena said, “Isn’t it? The timing is wrong, anyway.”

“When is it ever right?” Bonnie asked her.

“I’m not ready Bonnie.”

“Who is?”

“At least I put myself out there.” Elena said in her defense.

“Is that what you’re calling it Elena?” Ellie questioned. “You’re full of crap.”

Her twin looked down before asking them, “What do you mean?”

“All we’re hearing is reasons why you can’t.” Bonnie told her softly as they turned to walk towards a larger crowd of people. 

Ellie broke away from the other two girls and drifted over to an unfamiliar teenaged girl. “Hey, would you like a program for tonight?” The girl had pretty dark hair and bright eyes, but she seemed surprised that Ellie was speaking to her.

“Hmm? Oh yeah, sure thanks.” The girl nodded as she took the offered pamphlet.

“Are you from around here? I’ve never seen you at school.” Ellie questioned.

The girl gave a shy smile and nodded. “Yeah, I am, I’m just homeschooled and I don’t really get out much. But this is such a once in a lifetime thing I decided I couldn’t miss it.”

“Oh definitely, it’ll probably be another 145 years before the thing comes back and we’ll all be long dead by then.” Ellie joked and the girl gave her a laugh of agreement.

The mystery girl must have noticed the way that Ellie was confused because she admitted, “I’m so sorry, you just look like another person I’ve seen.”

“Oh! It’s totally fine, you probably just saw my twin sister, Elena.” She scanned through the crowds and pointed out her sister from a distance. “There she is. Yeah it startles some people to see two of the same person before they make the twin connection. I’m Ellie, by the way.”

The girl shook the hand Ellie held out with a smile, “I’m Anna.”

“It’s really nice to meet you, Anna.” She said sincerely.

Before Anna could say anything else, Caroline swooped in and handed Ellie a candle. “Here you go, hi nice to meet you, we gotta go.” Caroline said before pulling Ellie away from Anna after handing the other girl a candle as well. “Hey, I got some candles!” Caroline said excitedly as she handed a candle to Bonnie.

The group moved towards Matt and upon reaching him Elena greeted him with a smile and a “Hey.” He returned the greeting before tipping his lit candle over to light hers as well. “Thank you.” She said brightly.

“You’re welcome.” Elena turned to walk away from him, and straight into Stefan as she lit his candle.

Ellie watched as her friend stared longingly at her sister and couldn’t help but be a little frustrated with the other girl. When Elena looked back at Matt, guilt written all over her face, Ellie just sighed and pulled Matt until his focus was back on their little group which consisted of him, Ellie, Tyler, Caroline, and Bonnie. “Here you go.” Tyler said as he leaned forward from where he sat on the picnic table to light up her candle.

“Thank you.” She replied and once Matt was completely drawn into a conversation with Caroline, she slid up onto the table next to Tyler as he talked with Bonnie. The other girl had just caught Tyler up on Bonnie supposedly being psychic or a witch and Ellie grinned and said, “Does that mean you can use those cool tarot cards and read my fortune?”

Bonnie was grinning as Tyler added on, “Oh, how about hitting me up with the answers to Tanner’s tests.”

“Pass those along to me as well if you don’t mind kind sir.” Ellie joked. She still remembered the terrified look on Bonnie’s face the night of the party at The Falls and she didn’t want her to dwell on it.

“Will do.” Bonnie assured them.

“Hey Ty, you done being a dick to my brother?” Ellie questioned and the dark haired boy rolled his eyes.

“Is he done being a dumbass?”

“Hey! He’s always a dumbass but that’s my dumbass brother. So I’d hate to have to murder you because you tried to fight him.” Ellie told him fondly. Tyler was a jackass half the time but when he wasn’t being stupid or angry, he could actually be really nice. She could see that Stefan had moved to stand in front of her sister and she just hoped that Matt didn’t see. To her surprise, Elena walked off leaving Stefan to watch as she went. Elena eventually rejoined the group and they watched the comet together. Once it was done they all headed inside The Grill to hangout.

As everyone was coming in to get around their table, Jeremy walked up, concern was coloring his features. “Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?”

“You’re her stalker, you tell us.” Tyler retorted and Ellie elbowed him harshly in the side.

“I can’t find her.”

“She probably found somebody else to party with. Sorry pill-pusher, I guess you’ve been replaced.” Tyler taunted and Ellie sighed. He just _had_ to say that in front of Elena.

“What’s with the ‘pill-pusher’?” She questioned.

“Ask him.”

“You wanna do this right now?” Jeremy asked as Elena turned her disbelieving gaze onto her little brother.

“Are you dealing?” Elena accused.

“She’s never gonna go for you.” Tyler antagonized.

It seemed to finally be the tipping point for Jeremy because he snapped and said, “She already did. Over and over and over again.”

“Yeah, right.” Tyler scoffed.

“You slept with Vicki Donovan?” Caroline wasn’t sure whether to believe the youngest Gilbert or not. “I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with _you_?”

“There’s no way.” Tyler denied.

“And I didn’t even have to force her into it.” Jeremy said, his gaze locked firmly on Tyler. Ellie sat up straighter in her seat, eyes wide as she looked between her brother and Tyler and the implication that was being made.

“What the hell is he talking about, Ty?” Matt asked, the protectiveness of his sister jumping to the surface.

“Nothing man, just ignore him, he’s a punk.”

“You know what, how about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?” Matt suggested and Ellie could almost see the air around him buzz with a worried energy.

“We’ll check the back.” Bonnie said as she and Caroline started for the back door. 

“I’ll check The Square.”

“I’ll come with you.” Jeremy said to Matt only for Elena to refuse.

“Oh, no, no, no.” She said as she grabbed a hold of him. “You are coming with me. So that’s your game now? Dealing?”

“I’m not dealing.” Jeremy denied.

“Look, I’m sick of the tough love speech, Jer. It’s clearly having no impact.” Elena told him.

“You and Jenna, between the two of you it’s enough already-”

“We can stop if you want.” Elena said, effectively cutting him off. “Send you to a therapist where you’ll be forced to deal with it, or to rehab where you’ll sit in group and tell some stranger how you let your life fall apart. Or you could talk to me.”

“I vote for none of the above.” Jeremy replied, looking tired and upset before he walked off leaving the twins alone.

“What?” Elena huffed.

“Did you really think threatening him was going to be a good idea, Elena? Do you really think that that’s doing any good? Or are you just pushing him away more and into a drug haze? Because not only are his parents dead, the sister that’s supposed to look out for him just keeps harassing him with a holier than thou attitude.” Ellie snapped, growing tired of Elena’s constant berating of their brother. Elena tried to call out to her, but Ellie just shook her head and walked out after her brother. She found Matt heading towards where they’d been during the comet watching and called out to him. “Anything?”

“No, not yet. Come on.” Matt said as they came up to Stefan.

“Hey, Stefan!” Ellie called, catching the boy’s attention. “Have you seen Vicki?”

He looked confused by the question before responding. “No, sorry.”

“We can’t find her.” Matt told him. “She’s missing.”

Stefan nodded, “I’ll keep an eye out for her.”

The Salvatore had started to walk away when Matt called him back. “Hey. I saw you at the hospital yesterday.”

“Did you?”

“What were you doing there?” Matt asked.

“Visiting.” Stefan replied after a moment.

“Visiting?” Matt repeated, he didn’t seem to believe that in the least. “You know, Elena and I, we’ve known each other for a long time. We might not be together right now, but I look out for her. And I’ll always look out for her.” Matt stopped talking when he Stefan tilted his head, as if listening intently to something that Ellie and Matt couldn’t hear. 

“Excuse me.” Stefan said suddenly before walking past them.

“As nice as Stefan seems and all, that was really weird.” Ellie told Matt as they went off to continue their search for Vicki. A few minutes later Ellie spotted a familiar face walking up ahead. “Matty look!”

“Vicki!” Matt called as he and Ellie ran for his sister. 

She looked dazed and looked like she was in pain, holding her neck where her wound was. “Hey, Matty. I don’t know how I ended up here.” She told him as he and Ellie flanked her, making sure she was supported. “Stefan Salvatore found me wandering around back that way, got me to head back this way.”

“Come on Vic, you seem pretty out of it. Did you take something?” Ellie asked as they made their way back to The Grill. Vicki nodded but Ellie didn’t judge as they sat her at a booth and set to cleaning her up. Matt was fussing over making sure that Vicki’s bandages were on properly when Ellie spotted Stefan walking into The Grill. “Matt.”

He turned to face Stefan once he was sure Vicki’s bandages were on right. “She said you found her wandering around.”

“Yeah.” Stefan nodded.

“So, um, thanks.” Matt said sincerely.

Stefan looked over to Ellie. “Um, can I talk to you?” He asked and she stepped to the side, putting them halfway between Matt and Caroline. “Um, have you seen Elena?”

“No, sorry, I haven’t seen her since we went to look for Vicki. Maybe Caroline and Bonnie have?” She told him and he moved over to ask the other girls.

“I think she went home.” Bonnie admitted. Stefan nodded and turned to leave but Bonnie hesitantly called, “I’m gonna give you Elena’s cell number and her email. She is big on texting and you can tell her… I said so.” Once she’d finished writing down the information on a napkin she passed it to Stefan only to close her eyes and then pull her hand away with a gasp.

“Thank you.” He said but it was replaced with concern when he saw her horrified expression. “You ok?”

“What happened to you?” Bonnie whispered and Ellie saw how confused and concerned Stefan was. “Wow that’s so rude. I’m sorry. Excuse me.” The girl quickly got up from the table and walked off.

“Yeah, she kind of wigs out.” Caroline informed him. “It’s like her thing.”

* * *

When Ellie got home, she heard some sort of rustling and someone bent over in Jeremy’s room. “Jer?” She called, stepping into the room to see not Jeremy, but Jenna rummaging through his desk.

“No, it’s me, The Hypocrite Patrol.” Jenna replied without looking up.

“What are you doing?”

“I’ve become my worst nightmare, the authority figure who has to violate a fifteen year old’s privacy.” Jenna turned and rushed over to one of Jeremy’s shoes, pulling out a bong. “Jackpot.” She held up the offending shoe and said, “I see the hiding places haven’t gotten any more creative.”

As she tossed the shoe aside, Ellie questioned, “What brought this on?”

“Your asshat of a history teacher shamed me good yesterday.”

“You got Tannered. Been there.” Ellie said sympathetically as she sat down. 

“ _‘Discover the impossible, Ms. Sommers.’_ Got it. Thanks. Like I didn’t know I was screwing up.” Jenna ranted as she ransacked Jeremy’s drawers.

“You’re not screwing up, Aunt Jenna.”

“Yes, I am.” Jenna corrected as she paused her search. “You know why? Because I’m not _her_ .” Ellie felt a swell of pain at Jenna’s defeated expression and the mention of her mother. “She made everything look so easy. You know, high school, marriage, having you and Elena.” She paused to try and reign in her emotions before admitting, “I can’t do it. I’m gonna say or do the wrong thing, and he’s gonna get worse, and it’s gonna be _my_ fault.” Jenna sat down on the bed and told her, “It’s impossible.”

Ellie slid off her seat and knelt in front of her aunt. “This is just the fear talking. You’re a little scared, that’s all. We all are.” From the corner of her eye, Ellie saw Elena standing there, listening to the conversation and it was like a light went off above her head and her twin turned and headed back down the stairs. Ellie grinned a little, “Pretty sure Elena just realized she had something to do.” Jenna saw her other niece rushing back down the stairs and let herself smile a bit. “And you know what?”

“What?”

“So what if you’re not mom? Or if you don’t always say the right thing? They didn’t. They were amazing parents, and I’m lucky that they’re mine, but they made mistakes too. It’s how they got so good at it. Mistakes make you human, Aunt Jenna. Jeremy isn’t going to go off the deep end, trust me. And you are doing an amazing job at this. I wouldn’t want anyone else here with us. If it’s impossible, we’ll make it possible. Jenna everything's gonna be just fine.” Jenna’s eyes were wide and she slowly broke into a smile and pulled the young brunette into a hug.

“Maybe you should be a motivational speaker? You’re pretty good at it.” Jenna told her and it looked to Ellie like her aunt had a weight lifted off of her shoulders.

“Pft I’m Ellie Gilbert, I’m good at _everything_.” She joked. “Come on, let’s go eat all the ice cream before Elena steals it from us.” Jenna just laughed and they went off racing towards the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that had read the story so far and thank you to the people that have given kudos and subscribed. I'd also like to thank the people that reviewed on the first chapter. If you guys liked this chapter leave a comment and let me know! Also if you have any questions feel free to ask! Next chapter should be posted in a week at the latest.
> 
> Posted: 2/16/20


	3. Friday Night Bites

**Chapter 3: Friday Night Bites**

_September 11, 2009_

_Dear Diary,_

_Elena finally made a move with Stefan and she’s gone on and on about their epic kiss. I’m happy for her, but I still feel a little bad for Matt. He loves Elena but I don’t see her getting back with him now. Jeremy’s moping so Vicki must still be with Tyler. Honestly Lockwood doesn’t deserve her, he doesn’t really treat her well. As for me, the weird stuff keeps happening. I don’t know how to explain it… and I’m not sure if writing it here is the best idea. But I don’t know who I could go to for help. Maybe it’ll just…. Go away? I don’t really know what to do at this point._

“What smells so good?” Jenna strolled into the kitchen, looking happier than she had lately as she found the older twin standing in front of the stove.

“Pancakes of course, I just got done making strawberry pancakes for you.” Ellie said as she passed the plate to her aunt.

“You seem to be in a good mood.” Jenna commented as she poured syrup on her stack and sat at the counter to watch her niece cook.

Ellie turned to glance at Jenna and smiled warmly. “You do too. I don’t know, maybe I just slept really well, but I woke up this morning with so much energy so I decided to put it to use. We haven’t had a good breakfast here in awhile.” She explained as she added syrup into the batter. “Maybe since Elena is in such a good mood that it came through on the twin telepathy thingy.” 

“Ah yes, the good ole twin telepathy thingy.” 

“Shut up Jenna.” Ellie scoffed as she tossed a blueberry to her aunt. “Everything has just been so weird lately, animal attacks not helping, so maybe this means things are getting better.” Jenna seemed proud of her as she put a set of pancakes into a container and placed it in the microwave. “Since Jeremy is definitely going to push how long he can stay up there, tell him those pancakes are his and to reheat them for about a minute and they should be good.”

Elena made her appearance just as Ellie finished up her pancakes. “Perfect timing, here you go.” Ellie greeted, passing the plate over to Elena. “Get done writing in your diary about what a good kisser Stefan is?” She teased and Elena just blushed in response.

“Hold up, when did you two kiss?” Jenna asked gleefully.

“We sorta kissed last night when I went to his house.” Elena admitted as she cut into her pancakes.

“And she went on and on and _on_ about it as soon as she got home. I thought that I was never gonna get to sleep.” Ellie added and laughed as her sister tried to hide her flaming cheeks. “I’m going to go get my bag, Bonnie will probably be here soon.”

Her timing was spot on. Once she’d grabbed her bag and found the history book that was hiding from her under her bed and got back to the kitchen, Bonnie had honked from outside. “Bye girls!” Jenna called as they hurried out the front door.

“Hey guys.” Bonnie greeted them as they slid into the car. Ellie immediately noticed the way Bonnie seemed uncomfortable as Elena jumped into telling her all about going to see Stefan and the kiss they shared and blah blah blah.

When Bonnie continued to seem uncomfortable and unsure, Ellie couldn’t help but ask, “Bonnie, what’s wrong? Something’s bothering you.”

It seemed to immediately shut Elena up as she took in their friend and saw that, yes Bonnie did in fact seem to be off. “It’s nothing.”

“No, it’s not. Bon, you’ve been off since we got in the car. Fess up.” Ellie countered and Bonnie sighed in defeat, she knew from the look on Ellie’s face that she wasn’t going to let it go.

“I don’t know, maybe Elena should just slow down on this whole jumping into a relationship with Stefan thing.” Bonnie admitted. Elena’s eyes shot wide in shock but all Ellie could think about was the reaction Bonnie had when she’d touched Stefan’s hand accidentally last night. Did her reaction now have anything to do with her reaction then? 

“What do you mean? Slow down?” Elena asked as Bonnie parked the car.

“I’m not saying don’t date the guy. I’m just saying take it slow.” 

“You were the one who said go for it.” Elena reminded her.

“Now I’m saying take it slow.”

“Why the about-face?” Elena didn’t seem to have any intention of letting the subject drop and Ellie just sighed and hoped for the best.

“It’s not an about-face. You’re single for the first time in your entire high school career. It’s the perfect time to play the field.” Bonnie suggested.

“Oh, because I’m so that girl.” Elena joked. “Seriously, what are you not saying?”

“It’s stupid.”

“Bonnie….”

“What?” Bonnie asked, looking entirely uncomfortable.

“Spit it out.”

“I accidentally touched Stefan and got a really bad feeling.” Bonnie finally admitted.

“Is that it?” Elena asked. Bonnie turned to walk off, Ellie knew she was offended by Elena’s disbelief, but Elena grabbed her back. “Bonnie.”

“It was bad-bad!” Bonnie added and the freaked out look on her face from last night reminded Ellie of just how bad it had been.

“Is this the whole witch mojo thing again?” Elena almost seemed amused by it and Ellie found she had the urge to shake her sister until she listened to Bonnie.

“You know what, I’m just concerned. This is me expressing concern about my best friend’s new boyfriend.”

“And I love you for it, I do. But I feel good. It’s been a hard year, and I’m starting to kind of feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what, Stefan is a big part of that.” Elena explained.

“You’ve literally known Stefan for like two days, Elena.” Ellie chimed in and her sister just rolled her eyes. However, she did seem like she was going to drop the subject so Ellie looped her arm through Bonnie’s and the trio headed towards the school.

Of course, not long after they started walking the Salvatore in mention appeared before them. “Good morning, Elena.” He said as he smiled warmly at her. “Good morning, Ellie. Good morning, Bonnie.”

“Hey, um, I gotta find Caroline. She’s not answering her phone. So I’ll catch you guys later.” Bonnie’s excuse came quickly before she made her escape, leaving the Gilbert girls alone with Stefan.

“Bonnie, wait.” Elena tried to no avail.

“She doesn’t like me very much.” Stefan commented as he watched the other girl go.

“She doesn’t know you.” Elena denied. “She’s my best friend, she’s just looking out for me. But when she does, she will love you.”

Ellie pretended to gag a bit. “Ew new couple grossness. Gotta blast. Bye Stefan!” She grinned at him to let him know she was just playing and then she made a beeline towards Matt and Tyler.

“...walking, walking, walking. Yep, right into the sunset.” Tyler was saying.

“You’re a dick.” Matt huffed as he caught the football him and Chris were tossing back and forth.

“While you just stand there looking like one of those little yard trolls.” Tyler continued.

“Gnomes.” Matt corrected.

“What?”

“They’re called garden gnomes you dumbass.” Ellie told Tyler as Matt laughed.

Tyler was blatantly staring at Elena and Stefan, but Matt asked his friend, “What am I supposed to do, Ty? She made her choice.”

“Find somebody that deserves you because you’re amazing and if Elena can’t see that she doesn’t deserve you?” Ellie suggested.

Tyler shushed her before saying, “No, not that. Let her know she made the wrong one.”

“What are you doing?” Matt asked when Tyler dropped his bookbag and caught the ball before Matt could. “Ty, don’t, Ty!”

“Tyler Lockwood don’t you dare!” Ellie hissed, it didn’t take much for her to know what the idiot intended to do. “Tyler, no!” But before she and Matt could stop him, Tyler had stepped back and launched the football as hard as he could at the back of Stefan’s head. Before she could even call out to warn Stefan, he whirled around, catching the ball perfectly. “Holy shit.” He shook the ball with a smile as Tyler squinted his eyes in disbelief. Even with as much as Matt didn’t like the idea of Elena getting with Stefan, Ellie saw him smirking at Tyler’s shock. Stefan threw the ball back and when Tyler caught it, it had enough force behind it to make Tyler stumble. “See, that’s what you get for being a dick.”

“Shut up.” Tyler told her as he grabbed his bag and walked off, taking the football with him.

“He’s just mad because I’m right.” Ellie said as she and Matt headed inside. When she caught sight of Bonnie she told Matt, “Hey, I’ll be back, I need to go talk to Bonnie.” He nodded and she was quick to get to her friend. “Bonnie.” The girl in mention looked ready to bolt, but Ellie continued. “Stop, I’m not Elena, come on. I saw how you reacted last night. I saw how freaked you were and as much as I like Stefan, you wouldn’t say what you said to Elena without good reason. So what the hell happened when you touched him?”

Bonnie really looked at Ellie, trying to gauge how much she could tell the other girl. She must have sensed Ellie’s sincerity because she just sighed and said, “When I touched Stefan, it was a really bad feeling. I felt...”

“What is it, Bonnie?” Ellie asked.

“Ellie, it felt like death. It felt like what I imagine death to be like. It wasn’t like a clear picture, but it was an insanely strong feeling” Bonnie admitted. “I know, it’s stupid, and I shouldn’t be trying to sabotage their relationship, but-”

“No, Bonnie, no.” Ellie cut her off. “I have known you my entire life, you would never try to do anything malicious like that, especially not to Elena. I know you only said something because it really worried you and you thought it was important. I know you better than that and as much as I might like Stefan, I’ll keep an eye out, just to make sure that nothing happens to Elena.”

Bonnie hugged Ellie tightly, grateful for the other girl to actually listen to her warning instead of brushing it off like Elena had done. “So you don’t think I’m crazy?”

“As if. You aren’t crazy. Even if you aren’t a witch, some people just have natural intuition like that. But if you have any lotto numbers pop up in that pretty head of yours, definitely let me know.” Ellie said with a wink.

* * *

By the time history rolled around, Ellie was dreading the thought of having to sit and deal with Tanner and his attitude. She just knew that at some point Tanner was going to try and be a dick to someone, probably her or Elena and she really just wanted to get through the class without suffering from the urge of punching him in the face. However, it was nearly the end of class and nothing really bad had happened, yet. “World War II ended in…” Tanner trailed off and Ellie just sighed as he sarcastically asked, “Anyone got anything? Miss Juan?” The girl just shrugged before he answered his own question. “1945.”

From beside her, Elena was whispering to Stefan. “Psssst, FYI, our team sucks. They could use you.”

“Pearl Harbor.” Tanner was saying.

“Can’t.” Stefan whispered back. “I’m a loner.”

Elena tried to keep her laugh quiet but Tanner called, “Miss Gilbert?” Both girls turned to him, but he was looking directly at Elena. “Pearl Harbor?”

Before Elena could fumble for long to come up with an answer, Stefan stepped in. “December 7, 1941.”

“Thank you, Miss Gilbert.” Tanner said sarcastically as Elena smiled at her new beau.

The class giggled and Stefan just gave him a smile and said, “Any time.”

Tanner took that as a challenge. “Very well.” The teacher said, “The fall of the Berlin Wall.”

“1989.” Stefan didn’t even hesitate. “I’m good with dates, sir.”

“Are you?” Tanner asked skeptically and Ellie could see the way Stefan’s eyebrows rose, challenging Mr. Tanner to try. “How good?” Ellie was almost nervous to see what turn this would take, but Tanner was very much in the mood to knock Stefan down a peg. “Keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act.”

“1964.”

“John F. Kennedy assassination.”

“1963.”

“Martin Luther King.”

“‘68.”

“Lincoln.”

“1865.”

“Roe vs. Wade.”

“1973.”

“Brown vs. Board.” Tanner was slowly moving towards Stefan, obviously not pleased that as of yet, Stefan hadn’t missed a beat or an answer.

“1954.”

“The Battle of Gettysburg.”

“1863.”

“Korean War.”

“1950 to 1953.”

“Ha! It ended in ‘52.” Tanner told him and Ellie thought he was awfully too smug about it. Ellie could see Elena looking at their teacher with the same expression of confusion.

“Uh, actually, sir, it was ‘53.” Stefan corrected and Ellie had to give the boy credit for looking entirely unfazed by Tanner’s lack of professionalism.

Tanner turned back, not expecting Stefan to try and correct him and whispers of shock drifted through the class. “Look it up, somebody.” Tanner snapped and books immediately opened as people searched for the answer, everyone eager to prove Stefan right. “Quickly.”

From the other side of the class, Nick held up his phone. “It was 19….53.” Several kids couldn’t stop from laughing and whispering to each other about how impressed they were that the new guy just one upped The Terrible Tanner and ended up applauding the Salvatore for the impressive feat.

Ellie walked out with Elena and Stefan and despite Bonnie’s warning, she found herself grinning along with her sister. “How did you know all of that?” Elena was asking as they stepped out of the classroom.

“Years and years of crossword puzzles.” Stefan told her. “It’s a loner thing.”

After history they day ended without anything else dramatic happening and Ellie found herself watching the football practice from afar. She watched as Tyler missed the ball and yanked off his helmet in frustration. The whistle was blown harshly and Matt, bless the ever optimistic boy called out to the team, “Good job! Good job!”

Tanner, on the other hand, decided to be a dick. “Mr. Lockwood, is there anything you’re good at? ‘Cause it isn’t history, and it sure _as hell_ isn’t defending the ball!”

“Yes, coach.” Tyler said. It was startling to see Tyler not even try to defend himself.

“Now do it again!”

She turned and walked off as they started going again and met up with Elena as they headed for cheer practice. It was a little nerve wracking, neither of them had cheered since the accident and Ellie was certain that they were doing this for different reasons. She was doing this mostly because Elena was and she didn’t want to let Caroline down. Elena, she was sure, was doing it because she was trying to force herself to not be the ‘sad girl’ anymore. As they approached Bonnie, Elena cleared her throat and Bonnie shot up excitedly. “Oh my god! You guys are here!” The other girl was quick to wrap the twins up in a hug and held them tightly.

Elena confirmed her twin’s suspicions when she said, “Yep, I can’t be sad girl forever. The only way to get things back to the way they were are to do things that were. Oh, and you’re coming to dinner tonight.”

“I am?”

“Mmhmm. You, me, Ellie, and Stefan.” Elena told her and the moment her new boyfriend’s name was mentioned, Bonnie’s happiness was gone in the blink of an eye and replaced with apprehension. Elena caught it and gave Bonnie an annoyed look. “You have to give him a chance.”

“But tonight’s no good.” Bonnie told her. “Have you seen Caroline? I texted her like a hundred times.”

“Don’t change the subject, Bonnie Bennett. You’re going to be there.” Elena informed her.

“Fine! I’ll go.”

“Good.” Elena grinned in her victory.

“But Elena wait, really, where is Caroline? I haven’t seen her all day.” Ellie said as she sat up from her stretch to look around. The familiar blonde was nowhere to be seen.

“I don’t know.” Elena told her as she took a drink from her water bottle. “It’s not like her. Try her again.”

As Bonnie was calling Caroline’s phone, an unfamiliar Camaro with loud music playing and the top down drove up. “Oh, my god.” Bonnie said as Elena pointed out Caroline sitting in the car.

“That must be the mystery guy from The Grill.” Ellie said as she watched Caroline leaned over to kiss the dark haired man.

Elena sighed. “That’s not a mystery guy. That’s Damon Salvatore.”

“Salvatore, as in Stefan?” Bonnie whispered as the three of them stood up.

Caroline strode out of the car and as she walked by Elena she smugly said, “I got the other brother. Hope you don’t mind.” She addressed the whole team saying, “Sorry I’m late, girls. I, uh, was busy. Alright let’s start with the double pike herkey hurdler, what do you say?” All the girls fell into line but as she moved to position, Ellie saw the small stare down between her sister and the other Salvatore. Caroline was counting the beat as they all moved through the routine but Ellie could see that Elena was struggling and unsure of her moves. Her twin was looking around, trying to watch everyone else to match their moves and Caroline noticed it. “Elena, sweetie, why don’t you just observe today? ‘K? Keep going! Ok. Do it again from the top!”

The rest of practice went smoothly, save for Elena really ditching it to watch the football practice. Once practice was over, and the majority of the girls had dispersed, Caroline dropped down next to Ellie with a huff. “What is it, Princess? Spit it out.” Ellie questioned.

“I don’t get it. Why is Elena struggling with the routine so much when it’s easy for you?” Caroline whined.

“Because I’m amazing Caroline. Obviously.” Ellie teased. “She’ll get it. Just give her some time.”

The blonde sighed but nodded. “At least I have one amazing Gilbert who has her shit together.”

“You’re welcome.” Ellie said with a smirk.

* * *

Ellie was with Elena and Bonnie as they worked in the Gilbert kitchen and Bonnie was giving further proof that yes, she was in fact either psychic or a witch. “You explain it.” She was saying. “Last night I’m watching ‘Nine-O, a commercial break comes on, and I’m like, ‘I bet it’s that phone commercial!’ and sure enough, it’s the guy and the girl with the bench, he flies to Paris and he flies back. They take a picture.”

Elena scoffed disbelievingly. “Oh, come on. That commercial’s on a constant loop.”

“Fine. Well, how about this?” Bonnie asked. “Today, I’m obsessed with numbers. Three numbers. I keep seeing eight, fourteen, and twenty-two. How weird is that?”

“Maybe we should play the lottery.” Elena suggested with faux-seriousness.

“See!” Ellie exclaimed. “This is how I know she’s my twin! I have told Bonnie that a million times and she still isn’t listening to me!”

Bonnie glared at them as Elena asked, “Have you talked to your Grams?”

“She’s just gonna say it’s because I’m a witch. I don’t want to be a witch. Do you want to be a witch?” Bonnie whined.

“I don’t want to be a witch.” Elena denied.

“And putting it in a nice bowl isn’t fooling anybody. Why didn’t you just let Ellie cook?”

Flipping her hair dramatically, the older twin informed Bonnie, “She didn’t let me cook because she was afraid that I would steal Stefan away with my magical cooking skills.” With a dramatic gasp she said, “Does that mean _I’m_ a witch? Ok, serving spoons. Where are the serving spoons?”

Bonnie immediately responded, “Middle drawer on your left.”

Ellie opened the drawer in mention and held up the serving spoon she was looking for. Her twin had an immediate excuse to dismiss the possibility of Bonnie being psychic. “Ok, so you’ve been in this kitchen like a thousand times.”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Bonnie said as she gave Elena a look.

The doorbell rang, signalling the arrival of Stefan and Elena turned to Bonnie to say, “Ok, he’s here. Don’t be nervous. Just be your normal, loving self.”

As Elena went to answer the door, Bonnie looked incredibly nervous and with a glance to Ellie she told her, “Birthday candles.”

To the surprise of both girls, when she opened the drawer, there was an unopened pack of birthday candles inside. The Gilbert twin was quick to reach out and place a comforting hand on Bonnie’s shoulder. “It’s ok. Whatever happens, it’s ok.” Bonnie didn’t have a chance to say anything as Elena and Stefan appeared. “Hey, Stefan.”

“Hey, Ellie. Thanks for letting me come over for dinner.” He greeted as the four of them moved to set the food on the table.

“No problem.” Ellie told him.

“Hey, Bonnie.”

“Hi, Stefan.” Stefan might not have noticed, but Ellie saw the hesitation on Bonnie’s end to really have anything to do with him, so she made the decision to help the other girl out a little and sat across from Elena, giving Bonnie the chance to sit without being directly next to the Salvatore.

For the first few minutes, it was painfully awkward and silent and Elena attempted to break it by asking Stefan, “So did Tanner give you a hard time today?”

“Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right.” Stefan admitted

“Bonnie, Ellie, you should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him, and-”

“Yeah, I heard.” Bonnie said, cutting Elena off.

“Why don’t you tell Stefan about your family?” Elena suggested.

“Um, divorced. No mom. Live with my dad.” Bonnie said bluntly.

“No, about the witches.” Elena corrected her. Stefan quickly turned to look at Elena and she continued. “Bonnie’s family has a lineage of witches. It’s really cool.”

Despite the stress Elena put on the last sentence, Bonnie just shook her head. “Cool isn’t the word I’d use.”

“Well, it’s certainly interesting.” Stefan told her. “I’m not too versed, but I do know that there’s a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s.”

“My family came by way of Salem.” Bonnie admitted.

“Really? Salem witches?”

A slightly embarrassed chuckle escaped Bonnie. “Yeah.”

“I would say that’s pretty cool.”

“Really?” Bonnie asked skeptically. “Why?”

Stefan was quick to explain. “Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity.”

A look of pride graced Bonnie’s features as she said, “Yeah, they are.” Elena gave Ellie a pleased look, proud her plan had worked, but before anything else could be said, the doorbell rang unexpectedly.

“I wonder who that could be?” Elena said as she stood to go answer the door.

When it sounded like Caroline was at the door, Ellie rose from her seat to go see for herself. The other brother was standing behind Caroline, who was holding a cake. The older Salvatore was saying to Elena, “Hope you don’t mind.” 

Caroline went ahead and stepped through the door while Damon waited outside. Stefan had obviously come to the door at the sound of his brother’s voice. “What are you doing here?” He asked Damon.

“Waiting for Elena to invite me in.” Damon explained and Ellie couldn’t help but find it a little bizarre that he was waiting for a verbal invitation. Caroline had obviously come in which meant that Elena wasn’t going to stop him, so why was he still outside?

“Oh yeah, you can just-”

“No, no, no…” Stefan cut Elena off and Ellie gave him an odd look. “He can’t, uh… he can’t stay. Can you, Damon?”

The duo were in some strange staring match and Caroline told her new boyfriend, “Get in here.”

“We’re just… finishing up.” Stefan tried.

“It’s fine. Just come on in.” Elena told the older Salvatore.

Elena gave Stefan a look, not understanding why he didn’t want his brother to come inside. “You have a beautiful home, Elena.” Damon told her before focusing on Ellie. “Sister I’m assuming, you two look too much alike to not.”

“Twin, actually.” Ellie informed him.

He took her hand in his and brought it up to kiss. “Pleasure to meet you.” He said.

Ellie was startled by the serious urge to get as far away from this guy as possible. Everything about him was just bad energy and Ellie did not like it one bit. “Well then, lucky you.” She told him coolly as she removed her hand from his grip. If his brother was as uncomfortable with him being here as Stefan seemed, then it was probably smart for her to be wary of the dark haired man as well.

The six of them moved to the living room and at the moment, Caroline was telling Stefan, “I cannot _believe_ Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Oh, Tyler must be seething. But good for you, go for it.”

“That’s what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can’t just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it.” Damon said and to Ellie, personally, he sounded like he was full of shit.

“Yeah, Elena wasn’t so lucky today. It’s only because you missed summer camp.” Caroline said. “Although Ellie seemed to be doing just fine, but she’s always been quick to pick up on cheers. God, I don’t know how you’re ever going to learn the routines.”

Elena looked mildly offended but Bonnie jumped to her defense. “I’ll work with her. She’ll get it.”

“I guess we can put her in the back.” Caroline said, more to herself than anyone else.

“You know, you don’t seem like the cheerleader type, Elena.” Damon commented.

Ellie scoffed, “Yes, because you can gauge her personality and interests in all of the ten minutes you’ve known her.”

Damon raised an eyebrow, and Stefan almost looked a bit nervous, but Caroline was talking before the older brother could say anything to Ellie. “Oh, it’s just ‘cause their parents died. Yeah, I mean, she’s just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be _way_ more fun. Ellie too, but Ellie seems to be getting back to herself quicker though.” Caroline realized, either on her own or from the glare that Bonnie was giving her, that she’d said the wrong thing. “And I say that with complete sensitivity.”

“I’m sorry, Elena. I know what it’s like to lose both your parents.” Damon told her. “In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we’ve ever cared about die.”

“We don’t need to get into that right now, Damon.” Stefan warned him.

“Ah, you know what, you’re right, Stef. I’m sorry. I… the last thing I wanted to do was bring her up.” Damon said and Ellie was sure that he was doing it just to be a dick. Looking around at her sister and Stefan, she saw the way Elena was trying to figure out what he meant and she was damn near certain that was the goal and, like an idiot, Elena was buying it completely.

Once they’d finished in the living room, Ellie walked into the kitchen as Damon walked out and rolled her eyes at the sight of him. Elena was obviously buying into whatever kind of nice guy Damon was trying to fake. “What are you doing, Elena?” Ellie asked.

“What are you talking about?” Elena asked as she put the dishwashing liquid in.

“Why are you all smiley and acting cutesy with Damon when Stefan is clearly uncomfortable with him being here?” Ellie asked as Bonnie came into the room.

Elena looked confused. “What?”

“If you stopped buying every word Damon said for five seconds you’d have noticed how uncomfortable your new boyfriend was.” Ellie informed her. “Honestly can this night just end already?”

“Damon’s not that bad, honestly. Maybe give him a chance, Ellie?” Elena questioned.

Bonnie and Ellie shared a look as the latter scoffed. “Yeah, I’ll pass.”

* * *

Ellie was dressed in her familiar cheer uniform when she bumped into Elena who was definitely _not_ in uniform. “Um…. what?” Ellie questioned as she stared at her sister’s outfit.

“I… um… I quit.” Elena said as she made a face.

“What do you mean you quit?”

Her younger twin just sighed and said, “Cheerleading just isn’t for me anymore, Ellie. I’m not that girl anymore.”

Scoffing, Ellie asked, “And who told you that, Elena? Damon? You have talked non stop about getting back to cheerleading for _weeks_ and now you just think its a good idea to quit? You couldn’t even do this one event before making that decision? That’s no fair to Caroline to quit on a whim and not even give her a heads up. The routines were made from having a specific amount of girls and now we’re down one.” 

Elena’s sad face would have been enough to make Ellie feel bad if it wasn’t for the fact that she could so easily recall all the conversations she’d had with Caroline before their parents died. The blonde had been ecstatic over making captain and how she’d spent hours and hours planning routines to make them the best team possible. The cheer squad meant absolutely everything to Caroline and Elena seemed to not even have enough decency to give the other girl a heads up. Speak of the blonde and she shall appear. “Don’t bother Ellie, I don’t want quitters on my team anyways.” Caroline had obviously already found out about Elena ditching the team and was clearly pissed about it.

Letting the blonde drag her away, Ellie asked, “Care are you ok?”

Caroline stopped and turned to look at the only Gilbert in uniform. “No, I’m not. I was counting on Elena to be on the team just as much as I was counting on you and Bonnie. I _get_ that you guys are going through a lot, and what I said at your house to Damon and Stefan, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just say really stupid stuff sometimes. And I was giving her crap about not learning the routines in time because every time I have ever acted like Elena Gilbert couldn’t do something she would get all petty and prove me wrong.” Caroline seemed really frustrated at what Elena had done and Ellie completely understood that. “Ellie, she didn’t even tell me. I only found out because I saw her walking around out of uniform.”

She pulled Caroline into a tight hug to try and comfort her. “I know Care, but it’ll be ok. We can either find a replacement girl or we can rework the routines to handle one girl short. It’ll be fine.” The duo broke apart and it was a relief to see the smile on Caroline’s face. “Alright, now let’s get ready to be the cutest cheerleaders Mystic Falls has ever seen.”

As everything really seemed to get going, the cheerleaders all stood together with Bonnie, Caroline, and Ellie front and center. The fire had been lit and Tanner called out, “Quiet down, quiet down. Quiet down a little bit. Ok?” Everyone was loud and cheering in excitement as he kept telling them to wait. Once everyone had calmed down enough he said, “Wait. Now let’s be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into our town and roll right over us!” The cheerleaders led everyone into booing while he said, “But that is about to change. We’ve got some great new talent starting tonight on the offensive line, and I’m gonna tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these. Let’s give it up for Stefan Salvatore!”

The crowd went wild for Stefan as Caroline and the others chanted out, “Go Stefan go! Go Stefan go!” Tanner went on revving up the crowd, but somehow over the madness, Ellie heard the sound of glass breaking. She moved through the crowd quickly and soon the sound of fighting caught the attention of people near it.

A yell of, “Stop, you’re hurting him! Tyler!” Caught Ellie’s attention and she broke into a run towards the sound. It was Jeremy and Tyler in an all out fight, rolling around in the grass trying to beat each other to hell and back. By the time she got there, Stefan was keeping Tyler from hitting Jeremy again. Tyler was pissed at that and turned to punch Stefan in the gut only for the other boy to not even flinch. It was something that struck Ellie as being insanely weird, but it was hard to focus on anything other than her brother’s bloodied face.

She caught sight of Jeremy picking up a shattered glass bottle and her scream mixed with Elena’s as they shouted, “Jeremy, no!”

“Tyler, knock it off!” Matt tackled the dark haired football player as Jeremy’s swing sliced Stefan’s hand instead of it’s intended target. Jeremy looked in surprise at the bottle, as if just realizing what he had done and what he had intended to do. “Stop!”

Elena made it to their brother before she did and the other girl asked Jeremy, “What the hell, Jeremy? Put your head up, you’re bleeding.” Elena’s tone was condescending.

He jerked away from her angrily. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, you smell fine.” Elena scoffed.

“Just stop, ok?” Jeremy stormed off and Elena just went to fuss over Stefan as Ellie went after their brother. “Leave me alone.” He called over his shoulder to try and get her to go away.

“I’m not Elena so please stop running from me.” Ellie replied softly and watched as her brother finally paused and turned to face her. “Come here.” He obeyed and gave her a funny look when she produced tissues from seemingly out of nowhere. “You do _not_ want to see cheerleaders with runny noses. So you find creative ways to keep them on you.” She said with a shrug as she slowly cleaned his face. “Wanna talk about it?”

They slid down to sit with their backs up against the school as she fixed him up. “I’m just so tired of the way he treats Vicki, and he keeps talking shit about how he’s going to fight me. The dick has been saying that for fucking ever and still didn’t do anything about it. I guess tonight he finally decided to man up and do it.” Jeremy explained and she could hear the anger.

“But Jer,” She said as she gripped his arm, “you could have killed him with that bottle, and you could have really hurt Stefan. What were you thinking?”

When Jeremy moved to rest his head on her shoulder, she just wrapped an arm around his shoulders and held him close. “I just… I wasn’t thinking and I get that now it was really fucking stupid, but I was just so angry that I didn’t think. I just wanted him to stop.” Jeremy’s voice was so sad that her heart just broke for him.

“Oh, Jer, it’s not just the way he’s treating Vicki that’s got you so mad.” He tilted his head to look up at her and she told him, “All this… anger… it’s because of what happened to mom and dad and you’re mad because there’s no one to blame for that, and it makes it easier to focus all that hate onto Tyler for being a dick. It’s easier to hate him then forcing yourself to actually deal with mom and dad being gone, and it’s ok. It’s _ok_ to not be ok. It’s ok to not know how to cope. Do you know why?”

“Why?” He questioned.

“Because you’re just a kid, _I’m_ just a kid and it takes time to figure stuff out but we’ll figure it out together. People don’t all heal the same way, I’m not gonna give you shit to get off the drugs and alcohol, because that’s not helping. So can you do this for me?” When he made a noise signalling for her to continue she said, “I’m not asking you to quit cold turkey, but can you try to at least cut back on the drugs and alcohol?”

“I’ll do my best. I’m really sorry for everything.”

“Don’t be. I’m your big sister and if no one else knows what you need then I’m gonna do my best to figure it out, ok? I won’t leave you behind.” They just sat there together for a while until they heard Matt screaming for help. They found Matt looking frantic and on the phone with the police, Tanner’s very dead body laying in the parking lot. “Oh my god.” It was a rush of sirens and people and it was terrifying to look at. People were crying in shock and horror that their teacher was dead, had died so close to so many of them, and no one heard it happen, no one got to him in time. There was something else that Ellie felt like she was looking at and missing as she looked at the scene… until it clicked. It was building eight, the tag of the car read fourteen, and he had died in the parking spot marked twenty two.

Had Bonnie… had she predicted this in some way? Was she actually a witch? It wasn’t possible.

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that's read so far and subscribed and reviewed! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a comment and let me know what you guys thought! The next chapter should be posted in a week at the latest.
> 
> Posted 2/20/20


	4. Family Ties

**Chapter 4: Family Ties**

_ September 22, 2009 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ Apparently, they’ve found the animal attacking all these people, Coach Tanner included. A mountain lion they say. It just seems strange to me, that a mountain lion would only go for the neck, no cuts anywhere else on Tanner. But what do I know, I’ve never dealt with a mountain lion. The stuff keeps happening… I don’t know what’s going on with me. Maybe I should go and talk to her? Or should I wait? I don’t know. I guess I’ll wing it…. _

“To repeat, the animal terrorizing Mystic Falls has been caught.” The reporter on the tv said and Ellie scowled at the sight of the familiar face.

“Scum ball… scum bucket.” Jenna was insulting the man.

“Who are you talking to?” Elena asked.

“Him.” Jenna and Ellie told her.

“The news guy?”

“Also known as Logan ‘Scum’ Fell. Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?” Jenna questioned.

“Oh, no way.” Elena laughed. “You and him? He’s cute.”

“He is not cute.” Jenna denied. “There’s nothing cute about him.”

“There is, however, something particularly scummy about him.” Ellie confirmed. “What are you doing with that?” Ellie asked as her sister polished off the Gilbert watch.

“I went yesterday and got it from the safe deposit box. Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood that she would loan it to the Founder’s Council for their heritage display.” Elena told them as she kept cleaning it.

Jenna picked up an old wedding ring and asked, “Is that Grandma Beth’s wedding ring?”

“Originally, it was Great-Great-Grandma Mary’s wedding ring.” Elena informed her.

When Jeremy walked in he picked up one of the antiques. “How much do you think this stuff is worth you know, like, on eBay?” He questioned.

Elena snatched it from his hands and told him, “You’re not gonna find out.”

“That stuff is mom and dad’s. You can’t just give it away.” He argued.

“I’m not giving it away. It’s called a loan Jeremy.” Elena told him when the doorbell rang. The younger Gilbert twin went to answer the door as Ellie went to her brother at the fridge.

“Jer, she’s just doing it because it’s something mom had planned to do. They’ll give everything back, I promise.” Ellie tried to tell him, but he just shrugged. When she reached her room, her phone was vibrating loudly on the nightstand. “Your favorite Gilbert speaking, how may I help you?” She said teasingly as she answered.

_ “Hey! Do you wanna come to The Grill with me and Bonnie?” _ Caroline asked her.

“Sure, pretty sure Elena is making out with Stefan in her room, so that’s gross and I don’t want to be anywhere near that.” Ellie told her as she made a gagging noise.

_ “I’ll make sure to get  _ all _ the details on that later, but that’s perfect because I’m here.”  _ Caroline said and a car horn honked outside.

Ellie scoffed. “Love how you just assumed I’d say yes.” She said as she grabbed her bag.

_ “Why wouldn’t you say yes? You love me.” _ Caroline informed her.

“Goodbye.” Ellie said with a roll of her eyes as she hung up the phone. The perky blonde was sitting in her car grinning at her friend as she got in the car. “I can go back inside Blondie.” She faux-threatened.

Caroline scoffed. “No you won’t. So who are you taking to the Founder’s Ball?”

“I don’t have a clue, honestly.” Ellie said with a shrug.

“Oh! You could take Nick from math! He’s totally into you.” Caroline said with a nod.

“That’s actually disgusting, Caroline. He’s been giving me creepy looks since eighth grade, hard pass.” Ellie’s nose wrinkled up at the thought. “Why don’t you go with Caleb in band?”

“As if. I’m pretty sure he’s a drug dealer and no offense to Jeremy, but Caleb looks like one of those creepy dealers that stands outside your room at night.” Caroline told her. “Besides,  _ I _ already have a date.”

“With who?” Ellie asked as they met Bonnie outside The Grill.

“With who what?” Bonnie questioned as they headed inside.

“I was asking Care who she’s going to the Founder’s Party with.” Ellie explained.

Grinning, Caroline told them, “I’m going with Damon.”

“You’re taking Damon to the Founder’s Party?” Bonnie complained. “What about me?”

“Go with Elena.”

“She’s asking Stefan.” Bonnie told her.

“Okay, go by yourself.”

“Gee, thanks.” Bonnie said sarcastically as Ellie threw a napkin at the blonde.

“Go with me, Bonnie. Caroline keeps trying to get me to go with some random ass jock anyways.” Ellie offered and her friend nodded gratefully. “What about your mom? Is she okay with you bringing Damon?”

Caroline just rolled her eyes. “And I’m supposed to care why?”

“He’s older, sexy, danger guy.” Bonnie said.

“Plus he kinda seems like a dickhead.” Ellie added.

“‘Older, sexy, danger guy’? What is that an official witch Twitter tweet?” Caroline asked sarcastically, opting to ignore Ellie’s statement.

“No more witch jokes, okay? That whole Mr. Tanner prediction thing has me freaked.” Bonnie admitted.

“Okay.” Caroline agreed, as bitchy as she might act she wouldn’t want to actually hurt her friend. “And Damon’s not dangerous or a dickhead. You know, he just has a lot of issues with his brother. You know, like major deep-rooted drama.” 

“Like?”

“I’m not really supposed to say anything.”

“Caroline Forbes, when have you ever kept a secret in your life?” Bonnie asked.

“Okay. But you guys can’t tell Elena.” Bonnie and Ellie sat up straighter in anticipation. “Ok, so you guys know how they were talking about Stefan’s ex, Katherine?” The girls nodded. “Well apparently she dated both Stefan _and_ Damon, which I mean, can you blame the girl for having good taste? Anyways, after however much time passed, she ended up breaking up with Stefan and chose Damon and Stefan like went bat-shit crazy. He did all this horrible shit and some crazy manipulation, told Katherine all these lies and stuff until finally he spun the lies so well she believed him and dumped Damon. She turned against Damon too. If that’s how he acts when he gets dumped, I’m glad I got the other brother.”

Ellie’s brows furrowed at the story, although Bonnie seemed to buy it. “Seems fake but okay.” Ellie said with a shrug. “What? Stefan doesn’t seem like that guy to me, but I mean I can’t fault you for something you were told.”

By the time that Bonnie came to their house to get ready, Ellie could see that what she’d been told had been eating at her the whole time and she knew Elena would spot it too. When the doorbell rang, Jeremy beat the girls too it. Tyler stood before them talking about a box. “It’s right here.” Elena said as she strode towards them. “ _ Please _ be careful.”

“Yeah, be careful with it, dick.” Jeremy sassed.

“Hey. Not now, okay, guys? Please?” Elena pleaded.

“I’m fine, he’s just being a punk.” Tyler said.

“I got your punk.” Jeremy informed him.

Ellie put her hand on her brother’s arm to try and stop anything stupid from happening. “Look, Tyler maybe you should go. Tell your mom that we’ll see her tonight.” Elena told the Lockwood boy.

As Elena walked off and Jeremy started to close the door, Tyler pushed it back and asked, “Hey, would it make a difference if I told you I actually like Vicki?”

“Not even if you meant it.” Jeremy responded before shutting the door in his face.

After he’d gone back upstairs, the twins went back to the kitchen where Bonnie said, “Delicate Flower versus Naughty Vixen.”

“Tough call, can we mix them?” Elena asked.

“Look at you, gettin all pretty for your date.” Bonnie grinned.

Ellie pretended to sniffle. “My little baby is all grown up now.”

“You seem happy-ish.” Bonnie added as Elena brought over the paper towel.

“I am ish.” Elena confirmed. “Tonight’s gonna be a good night. But don’t let that stop you from telling me whatever it is you wanted to tell me as soon as you walked in the door.”

“What if I tell you in the morning?” Bonnie tried. “I don’t want to ruin the night.”

“Bonnie, out with it.”

“Ok,” Bonnie caved. “But it has to go in the vault because Caroline will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she squealed. Apparently, Stefan has a very interesting back story.” Elena made a noise of agreement and Bonnie asked, “Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend Katherine?”

“I know that they both dated her and that’s why they have issues.” Elena told her.

“Yeah, they both dated her, only she chose Damon and that drove Stefan mad. So he did horrible things to try and break them up. He manipulated Katherine. He filled her head with all these lies until finally it worked and she turned against Damon.” Bonnie admitted.

“I don’t know why she’d pick him when Stefan is obviously the better choice.” Ellie scoffed. There was no way anyone in their right mind would choose Damon over Stefan.

“That sounds like one person’s side of the story meaning Damon’s.” Elena said.

“Ah finally! One point to you for not buying that crap.” Ellie commended her.

“I just wanted you to know.” Bonnie shrugged.

“Anyway, his past relationships are none of my business.” Elena added.

“Unless he’s a calculating, manipulative liar.” Bonnie said as she started a clear coat on her nails. “That is your business.”

“Stefan is none of those things.” Elena denied.

“Agreed.” Ellie chimed in.

“Yeah? How do you know?” Bonnie questioned. 

Elena had no answer and her sister just sighed. “Come on, Bonnie. Stefan’s not the type, bad feeling aside, he’s been nothing but good to Elena. You said it felt like death when you touched him yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, couldn’t that death that you felt be from losing his parents and his girlfriend? Surely losing people you love like that leave a mark?” Ellie suggested as they painted their nails.

Bonnie looked up in surprise. “Huh… I hadn’t thought about that.” She admitted. Eventually their conversation went back to their normal routine of gossip and the shows they’d been watching as they painted their nails before moving upstairs to do their hair.

The phone started to ring from Elena’s bedroom and she moved to answer it. “Hello? Hi, Mrs. Lockwood. What do you mean? It is? Are you sure? ‘Cause I saw it. Let me check. Mmhmm. I will find it and bring it. Okay. Bye.” 

“What’s wrong?” Bonnie asked.

As soon as Ellie realized what was happening she groaned. “Elena don’t.”

Her sister stormed into Jeremy’s room and slapped the headphones off his head. “Ahhh! God, what now?” Jeremy asked as he struggled to get the headphones off.

“The pocket watch. Where is it?” Elena questioned.

“Oh, w-what watch?”

“The one you stole from mom’s box.” Elena accused. “Look, Mrs. Lockwood just called me freaking out. It was on the list, Jeremy, and she can’t find it and she thinks she’s the one who lost it.”

“Maybe she did.” Jeremy suggested. “Maybe, uh, maybe Tyler took it.”

“Don’t even play that card. Jeremy, you took it. If I go online am I gonna find it on eBay? Is that how you pay for your pot?” Elena sassed.

“ _ Elena _ !” Ellie hissed. “Out of line.”

“Screw you.” Jeremy said as he pushed himself out of his seat. He pulled it out of its hiding spot and told her, “I would  _ never _ sell this, okay?”

“Then why did you take it?” 

“Because it’s supposed to be mine.” He informed her. “Dad said it goes to the first born son. His father gave it to him and now what?”

He slammed it into her palm and it seemed that Elena finally realized that she’d messed up. “And he was gonna give it to you.” She said softly.

“Yeah.” Jeremy told her bluntly. Elena walked out of the room without looking back and Jeremy moved to pull his headphones back on.

“Look, Jeremy, it’s still yours, okay?” Elena said as she paused in the doorway. “Mom, promised Mrs. Lockwood. What do you want me to do?”

“Just take it and get out.”

“You’ll get the watch back, Jer. I promise.” Ellie told him after Elena had left but he just waved her off.

Once they’d all finally managed to get dressed, Ellie saw Elena eyeing the watch with regret. She watched as Elena silently left the watch on Jeremy’s desk before coming back out. “How mad do you think she’s gonna be?”

“She’s not going to be mad, Elena. Besides you did the right thing.” Ellie told her. “Is Stefan coming to pick you up?”

“Yeah.” Elena said.

“Ok. Then me and Bonnie are probably going to go ahead and head that way. I’ll see you there yeah?” Ellie questioned. Once her twin nodded, she added, “Ok, don’t forget to lock the door.”

“You ready, Ellie?” Bonnie asked.

“Mmhmm, let’s go my beautiful date.” Ellie joked with a grin and the girls laughed as Bonnie and Ellie headed for her car.

“So, she gave it back to him, hmm?” Bonnie inquired.

“Yup, and I didn’t even have to say anything to her about it. I think she realized she messed up once she remembered that dad was supposed to give it to him. I just wish she would ease up on him. He’s trying.” Ellie admitted. The drive to the Lockwood mansion was a quick one and the duo locked arms and fell in line to be greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood like everyone else. “Elena, how did you guys even beat us here?” Ellie asked as she fell in line behind her sister.

“I knew a shortcut, found it when I was driving around to get to know the town again.” Stefan admitted.

“Ah, cute and a gas saver, keep that one Elena.” Ellie said sagely. As they approached another familiar face appeared, “Aunt Jenna! Don’t you look pretty!” Her aunt fell in line with her and Bonnie as the three chatted away as they moved towards the front.

* * *

The hours passed and eventually the twins found themselves arm in arm as they stared longingly at their parent’s wedding rings. Ellie felt Elena shift as Stefan approached and the Salvatore asked softly, “Your parents?”

They nodded as Elena told him, “There’s a lot of history here.” 

As they looked about the room, Ellie found something that caught her eye. She started to read, “‘The Founding Families of Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural Founder’s Council Celebration.’”

“Wow, look, it’s the original guest registry.” Elena added. “Look at all these familiar names. Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood.” Looking through the list she paused. “Is that… Damon Salvatore? And Stefan Salvatore?”

Ellie searched for the names on the list and found them, Stefan above Damon but sure enough there they were. It was so strange. What were the chances that the original Salvatore brothers were also Stefan and Damon? “The original Salvatore brothers.” Damon said from behind them as he and Caroline approached. “Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually.”

“We don’t need to bore them with stories of the past.” Stefan told him.

“It’s not boring, Stefan.” Elena said. “I’d love to hear more about your family.”

Damon somehow seemed smug but Caroline announced, “Well, I’m bored. I wanna dance and  _ Damon _ won’t dance with me.” Damon agreed to that. “Could I just borrow your date?”

Elena fumbled for what to say but Stefan politely declined, “I don’t really dance.”

“Oh, sure he does. You should see him. Waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all.” Damon corrected.

“You wouldn’t mind, would you, Elena?” Caroline questioned.

Knowing she couldn’t say no, Elena replied, “It’s up to Stefan.”

“Well, sorry, but I’m not gonna take no for an answer.” Caroline said with a chuckle as she pulled him away.

Once they left, Damon turned to Elena and said, “I wanna apologize to you for being such a world class jerk the other night when I tried to kiss you.” Ellie turned to him, startled that he’d tried it and startled that Elena hadn’t said anything. “There’s no excuse. My therapist says I’m… acting out, trying to punish Stefan.”

“For what?” Elena questioned.

“It’s all in the past. I don’t even want to bring it up. Let’s just say that the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry. And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers.” Damon told Elena as Ellie stayed in hearing range, not particularly trusting the older Salvatore. “The Salvatore names was practically royalty in this town until the war, there was a battle here-”

“The Battle of Willow Creek.” Elena said with a nod.

“Right.”

“I know, we talked about it in class. Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside.”

“What the history books left out was that the people that were killed, they weren’t there by accident. They were believed to be Union sympathizers. So some of the founders on the confederacy side back then wanted them rounded and burned alive.” Damon explained as he walked over to a model church. “Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church. And when they went to rescue them they were shot. Murdered in cold blood.”

“Who was in the church that they wanted to save?”

“A woman, I guess. Doesn’t it always come down to the love of a woman?”

“Look, I’m sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you but I can’t get in the middle of it, Damon.” Elena told him. “I just… I hope you two can work it out.”

“I hope so too.” Damon said softly.

Ellie scoffed and walked off. She found Stefan still dancing with Caroline and looking entirely unsure of what to do with himself. “Excuse me, Caroline. It’s my turn to steal the good Salvatore.” Ellie said as she pulled Stefan from Caroline and stepped into the dance. He looked appreciative as Caroline left. “She’s one of my best friends but she can be a bit much, I know.”

Stefan smiled at her. “She’s not too bad.” He joked.

“Oh, I’ll be sure to tell her that.” Ellie replied. “But seriously, your brother seems to be trying to get into Elena’s head. And apparently he-” She cut herself off not sure if she should mention anything.

“What?” Stefan asked. “What did he do?”

When she saw how genuinely concerned about what Damon could have done she just sighed and admitted, “Apparently, he tried to kiss Elena the other night. I don’t know if you knew, but that seems really dickish so I figured you should know.” 

Stefan sighed and moved over to where Caroline was drinking a glass of champagne, a few moments later, Damon and Elena approached with the former asking, “What’d we miss?”

“We were just chatting.” Stefan replied. “Drink, Damon?”

Damon eyed the drink before saying, “No thanks, I’ll pass.”

Elena must have sensed the tension because she turned to her boyfriend to ask, “Stefan, do you have another dance in you?”

He smiled brightly at her. “Absolutely.”

“They look  _ so _ cute together.” Caroline said fondly as Ellie was walking away.

She spotted Bonnie in the crowd and as she approached, she saw her aunt walking away from Logan Fell as quickly as she could without causing a scene. “Logan.” She called and the older man turned to her. “Whatever you said to Jenna, can you not?” He seemed surprised as she stepped closer. “Cheat once and that trust is gone genius and Jenna isn’t stupid.” She continued on before he could protest. “Hello my gorgeous date.”

“Thank god, if I had to deal with one more dude trying to hit on me I was gonna explode.” Bonnie said in relief.

“Be relieved for your savior is here!” Ellie said as she led them to go get a drink. “God, I really don’t like Damon.” She admitted. “Something about him just gives me very very bad vibes. But how about we try to actually have some fun and go get some food, yeah?”

They got food for themselves and sat at one of the benches when Elena came over to them looking upset. “I had a fight with Stefan.” She said sadly as Ellie moved so that she and Elena could share her food.

“This is my fault.” Bonnie sighed. “I planted doubt. I’m a doubt planter.”

“It’s not your fault. I just, I feel terrible because I said that I wouldn’t get in the middle of it and then that’s exactly what I did. I got all snotty.” Elena told them.

“Elena, honey, there you are.” Mrs. Lockwood said as she came and sat on the chair next to them. “I notice the watch still isn’t in the collection.”

Ellie watched as Elena tried to come up with something, her sister finally managing to reply, “Oh, um, I’m sorry, Mrs. Lockwood. I, um, I couldn’t find it. I guess it-it’s still packed up in my parent’s stuff somewhere.”

“I see.” Mrs. Lockwood said. “Well, please let me know if you do find it.”

“Okay.” Elena agreed and the older woman just nodded 

Once she was gone, Ellie turned to her sister. “My advice Elena, and please for once listen to it, is to apologize to Stefan. It’s Damon messing with you. Try and go find him yeah?”

Elena nodded. “You’re right. I’m going to go to the bathroom really quick and then I’m going to try and go find Stefan and apologize to him.”

The two other girls just nodded at her as she stood and left them. Ellie raised a piece of cake and said, “Here’s to hoping that Elena and Stefan fix their problems.” 

Bonnie raised a piece of her cake and bumped her fork to Ellie’s. “Cheers to that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment let me know what you think! Thank you to everyone that has read and subscribed and bookmarked this story!
> 
> Posted 2/27/20


	5. You're Undead To Me

**Chapter 5: You’re Undead To Me**

_ September 28, 2009 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ Stefan and Elena are fighting, because of Damon I swear, but I have no idea how long until they manage to fix things. He seems good for her, so maybe I’ll have to talk to him to see if I can help in any way. Jeremy also seems to think he’s being even a little bit discreet with hiding Vicki in his room. I heard her laughing when I woke up. I don’t have it in me to be upset, he really likes her. Last night though, something weird happened. I don’t think I can put off going to see her for much longer. _

Ellie sat in the kitchen next to Jenna drinking coffee as Elena came into the room, whisper yelling, “Jenna! Are you aware of what’s going on upstairs?”

“Snitch.” Ellie snorted.

“Uh huh.” Jenna admitted.

“And you have no objection?” Elena asked in disbelief.

“Oh come on Elena. Him screwing Vicki or him doing drugs, I’d definitely pick Vicki.” Ellie told her.

“He could be craftier about it. At least make an effort to sneak her in and out.” Jenna replied and Ellie snorted. “Oh and uh, just so you know, I won’t be home for dinner.”

“Ooh, so you’re actually going to do it.” Elena said teasingly. “You’re gonna go out with Logan.”

“I still think it’s a bad idea, and I completely reserve the right to kick his ass if he hurts you again.” Ellie informed her, “But I hope I don’t have to and that he’s not an idiot this time.”

“I’m gonna show up and torture him, yes.” Jenna confirmed. “And yes, if he does something stupid then Ellie go right ahead and murder him. I’ll help hide the body. And Elena, have you heard from Stefan?” 

“Not since he left that very vague message three days ago.” Elena told her as she poured herself a bowl of cereal. “‘Hi, um, Elena, I, um, I have something I have to do. I’ll uh, explain in a few days.’”

“Haven’t you called him?” Jenna asked.

“Nope. Not going to either.” 

“And you’re ok with everything?” Jenna questioned.

Elena sat the milk down on the counter in frustration. “No, I’m not ok with any of it. But I’m not going to cry about it either. You know, I was going to write in my diary this morning, and then I thought, what am I going to write? Honestly I’m not going to be one of those pathetic girls whose world stops spinning because of some guy.” She ranted.

Jenna was wide eyed as she said, “Ok, then”

“I’ll be fine.” Elena told them as she took her cereal and walked off.

“She’s definitely not fine.” Ellie said bluntly. Jenna nodded in agreement. “Hey, I think I’m going to go check on Caroline. Stuff’s been weird with her lately.”

“Ok, I’ll see you later.” Jenna replied as Ellie grabbed her things and headed to her car. The ride to Caroline’s was filled with conflicting thoughts of trying to figure out what was happening, and another desire to bury her head in the sand and not think about it. That wasn’t an option, Ellie knew, but it didn’t stop her from wishing that it was. Her thoughts drifted to Caroline and the bruises and bite marks on her body. She knew Damon couldn’t be trusted, but how could he hurt Caroline like that? The blonde could be the worst person she’d ever met and she still wouldn’t wish that abuse on her.

She didn’t know why Caroline hadn’t told her mom, and she didn’t know why Stefan hadn’t done anything, but she needed to focus on helping Caroline and making sure that son of a bitch never got near her again. She pulled into Caroline’s drive and parked next to Bonnie’s car and went to the door. “Hey.” She said softly as the blonde opened the door.

“Hey. Bonnie’s in my room.” Caroline greeted as they headed to her room.

Bonnie was sitting on Caroline’s bed, staring intently at a candle. “Hey, Ellie.” She said without looking away from the candle. Ellie moved to sit next to Bonnie on the bed. “So Caroline, what do you remember from what happened?”

The blonde was sitting at her vanity and told them, “I remember the party. Damon came up behind me, and he was kissing my neck, or biting my neck. I passed out. It’s like there’s holes in my memory lately. It’s just weird. Maybe I let him bite me.” Caroline suggested with a shrug.

“Why would you do that?” Ellie and Bonnie both asked her.

“Can we just not talk about it, ok? I just don’t want to talk about Damon. I don’t want to talk about any of it.” Caroline said as she carefully covered up a mark. “I just want to go back to normal. What are you doing with that candle?”

“Um.... nothing.” Bonnie replied as she set the candle on the nightstand. “What’s this?”

She picked up a crystal as Caroline told them, “Damon gave it to me. Or he was going to give it to me. All I know is, it’s mine now.”

“It’s ugly.” Bonnie told her as she held it up to look at it.

Caroline snatched it away as she said, “Well, then get your grubby hands off it.”

Ellie grinned, grateful that Caroline was feeling well enough to be sarcastic as the blonde moved back to the vanity to add the finishing touches to hide her fading marks. “Here, let me help.” Ellie offered as she moved to stand behind her friend and cover up the part of the mark that she couldn’t easily see. “Hey Care?” When the blonde acknowledged her, she continued, “If Damon ever even gets near you again, let me know ok? I’ll kill him in his sleep.”

Her friend smiled at her, and Ellie could see how much this whole ordeal had affected her. “I promise.” Caroline agreed.

“Hey, guys, I need to go pick up Elena.” Bonnie said as she moved to put on her shoes.

The girls at the vanity nodded, “Can you get Elena to grab my history book for me? I forgot it. It’s sitting on my bookcase.” Ellie asked as she put a touch more concealer on Caroline’s neck.

“Yeah, I’ll make sure we get it.” Bonnie said. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Bye.” The two girls chimed. Once Bonnie was gone, Ellie sat down next to Caroline. “So, how are you really?”

“I’m fine.” Caroline said dismissively.

“No, you’re not and you shouldn’t have to pretend that you are Caroline. You’ve been my best friend for my entire life. It’s always been Bonnie and Elena, you and me. So you can tell them you’re ok if that’s what you need to tell them, but don’t lie to me.” Ellie told her.

The blonde’s hands shook slightly as she sat down the tube of mascara she was holding. “I’m scared, Ellie. I have all of these blanks in my memory that I didn’t even realize were there until I tried to think about it. And when I think about Damon, it’s like there’s this feeling of really liking him but also being terrified of him. I’ve said things and I don’t know why I said them, or did things and don’t know why I did them. I’m just really freaked out and I’m scared of seeing him again but at the same time I want to see him. What the hell is wrong with me?” Caroline was nearly in tears as Ellie pulled her into a tight hug. “It’s like… sometimes I hate him and I’m scared of him and then other times all I want is to be with him and I don’t know why.”

“It’s manipulation, Care. People stay in abusive relationships because there’s a part of them that still sees the good their abuser showed them. It’s because he’s gotten into your head and the you that knows better is being pushed to the back because of the you that still wants to have that wonderful, hot, sexy, older boyfriend that you can show off and piss your mom off by dating. Listen, I’m not going to let anything happen to you. You’re going to be  _ fine _ .” Ellie promised. She picked up a tissue and gently dabbed away the tears that were threatening to spill from Caroline’s eyes.

“I’m going to be fine.” Caroline repeated. “I’m going to be fine. Ok, let’s get to school.” Ellie drove them to school as she did everything she could to keep Caroline distracted. Once they’d arrived, two of the girls from the cheer team fell into step with them. “The Sexy Suds Carwash is tomorrow. The football team and the band have committed.” She said as she passed out flyers for the event. “Well, not all the band. Just the ones who can pull off a bikini. I want in your face sexy. I mean, it’s a fundraiser for god sake.”

As Caroline spoke, Ellie could just barely hear Bonnie and Elena talking. She could hear Bonnie making her exit and caught a glance of Stefan trying to talk to her sister and Elena wasn’t having it. Caroline must have caught on to what she was staring at because she turned and headed straight for the younger Salvatore. “Stefan?” Caroline asked, “Where’s Damon? He has some serious apologizing to do.”

“He’s gone, Caroline.” Stefan told her.

“When’s he coming back?”

“He’s not coming back.” Stefan said ominously. “I’m sorry.” 

Stefan walked off, but all Ellie was focused on was the expression on Caroline’s face. “This is a good thing, Caroline.” Elena comforted as she rubbed the blonde’s shoulder.

“I know that.” Caroline replied without looking at her.

“Oh, Ellie, here’s your book.” Elena said as she pulled her sister’s book from her bag.

“Thanks, come on Care, we need to make sure that we have all the car was stuff ready for tomorrow.” Ellie said as she pulled the blonde along. “You alright?”

Caroline nodded as she slipped her arm into Ellie’s. “Yeah, I just feel stupid for asking about Damon.”

“You’re anything but stupid, Caroline.” Ellie reminded her softly as they made their way to the room where everything was being kept. “Don’t worry, I’m here to make sure that my ever faithful perky best friend doesn’t stay sad for long.” Ellie promised, the overly cheery tone of her voice enough to make the blonde giggle. “Ok, so do you have the list to check everything off?” They were careful to make sure they had exactly what they needed, the thoroughness of it enough to distract Caroline from her thoughts, before they left to get ready to go to their classes. Once they went their separate ways, Ellie spotted the Salvatore she actually liked just ahead of her. “Hey Stefan!” She called and he slowed his pace so she could catch up.

“What’s up?” He asked.

“Ok, so I know you really like my sister, and I know she’s being a bit difficult, so I’m gonna help you out ok?”

“Ok.” Stefan said with a nod.

“Jenna isn’t going to be home tonight. So why don’t you come over and surprise Elena, make her something she likes, like maybe chicken parmesan. It’s one of her favorites.” Ellie suggested and Stefan nodded gratefully.

“Thank you. I think I’ll take you up on that offer.” He was honest about wanting to make sure that he stayed in good standing with Elena, that much was clear. With a nod, Ellie left the boy to his own devices.

* * *

After school, Ellie had joined Matt at The Grill to hang out and try to beat the boy at pool. Matt had just taken his shot when Ellie noticed her sister approaching them. “Hey, Matt, um, have you seen Stefan?” She asked her ex.

“Nope.” Matt replied and as Elena started to walk off, he called, “If you want to kill some time, um, you can rack.” Elena looked skeptical so Matt continued. “Come on, we haven’t played in forever. I’ll let you break.”

Ellie watched as Elena slowly broke into a grin as she nodded. “Alright, just until Stefan gets here.” The trio fell into a once familiar routine of playing pool. Elena racked and then broke, followed Matt taking his shot, and Ellie teaming with Elena to try and beat Matt. As the game went on, Elena started telling Matt what had happened this morning. “So I get up this morning to get ready, and there’s Vicki, all nonchalant in the bathroom like it’s no big deal that they’re hooking up.”

“Yeah, I’m not gonna lie. Your brother and my sister, that’s weird.” Matt admitted, privately Ellie couldn’t help but think it really wasn’t that big of a deal and Jeremy seemed happy, so why should she complain? Elena’s phone vibrated and as she stared down at it, Matt asked, “How late is he?”

“Hitting the hour mark.” Elena told them.

“Maybe something came up, Elena. He does live pretty far out.” Ellie suggested lightly, trying to keep Elena’s opinion of the Salvatore from turning too sour.

Elena didn’t seem to believe her as she added, “Nothing’s wrong though.” Matt was the one to give Elena a skeptical look. “Which means I’m not talking boy problems with you.”

“Good.” Matt said as he moved to take his shot. “I mean, it’s not like we were ever best friends or anything.”

“Ok, here it goes…” Elena conceded. “What do you think of Stefan? Is he a good guy?”

“Why? What’s he done?” Matt questioned.

“Not any one thing. He’s just so secretive all the time. I think there’s something that he doesn’t want me to know, which makes me want to know all the more.” Elena confessed.

“Like what? Like that he’s a serial killer and he keeps a clown suit in his trunk?” Matt joked as both the Gilbert girls laughed.

“No, of course not.” Elena told him. “But what do we know about him, really?”

“He’s great at football. A little bit of a loner. And as much as I hate saying it, he might be a nice guy.” Ellie was proud of Matt, she knew how hard it had to be to be supportive of the guy dating the girl you just broke up with.

“So you think I’m just being paranoid?” Elena asked and Ellie spotted the man of conversation approaching.

“I think you should talk to him.”

“Talk to who?” Stefan inquired as he made his presence known to the others. “I’m so sorry that I’m late.”

“What happened?” Elena asked him, but Ellie could see that her sister was not impressed.

“I got held up.” Stefan said. It was vague at best and that was the last thing that Stefan needed to be doing.

“Is everything ok?”

“There was this thing with my uncle.” Stefan told her.

“And you couldn’t call and tell me that you were going to be an hour late?” Elena accused.

“Ok. you two have fun.” Matt said as he and Ellie made their exit. She could hear them arguing as they walked away and paused slightly to turn back as an older black man had told Stefan that he knew him. Stefan seemed confused and Ellie brushed it off as a slightly senile old man mistaking him for someone else.

She watched as Elena walked off in anger and watched the old man continued to stare down Stefan. Making a decision, she sent a text to Jeremy before going over to the Salvatore. “I sent a message to Jeremy, he knows you’re coming over to fix Elena dinner. You’ll need to go to the store to get the stuff to make it. Elena, honestly, she’s insanely nosey. She wants to know everything. I think she’s forgetting that really, we met you less than a month ago and you don’t have to spill all your secrets right away. That doesn’t mean you can’t give her  _ something _ .”

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“I get that you aren’t ready to spill all your trauma and anything else that you don’t really talk about, but you can tell her something like, I don’t know, the music you like or the shows you watch, your favorite color. It can be little things. Sometimes those are the more important things anyways. Make her see that you’re someone she doesn’t want to give up so soon.” Ellie explained and she was pleased to see how seriously Stefan was listening.

“Thank you, Ellie, I mean it.” Stefan told her and she nodded at him.

With a soft laugh, Ellie added, “Try not to screw it up.”

He smiled as he replied, “I’ll do my best, thank you again.” Even after Stefan had gone, the man continued to stare at where he’d been. After being stared down by the random man, Ellie nearly sprinted back to where Matt was.

“What was that about?” Matt asked as he pushed a plate of fries to the center of the table for them to share.

“Me being amazing and helping Stefan out.” She said, “Also it was really big of you to say that stuff in Stefan’s favor.” Matt shrugged, trying to brush it off but Ellie continued. “Really, Matt, most guys would be a dick to try and ruin the new relationship or stay out of it completely, but instead you told Elena the truth. It was really mature and I’m really proud of you.”

The two of them talked easily and for Ellie it was nice to just relax and hang out with Matt for a bit, something she felt like she hadn’t done in a while. “Hey, I’ll be right back.” Matt said as he stood and made his way to the bathroom. She moved the grab the salt, only to have the shaker slip through her fingers and fall to the ground.

“No!” She whisper shrieked, hands flying out to try and catch it before it could shatter but her eyes went wide as it landed on the floor, perfectly upright. “What the fuck?” She picked it up hastily and felt her stomach drop when she realized that she couldn’t see any spilled salt, not even a little bit.

She must have looked sick, because when Matt returned to the table he immediately reached out to her. “Hey, are you ok?” She idly realized that her hands were shaking. When she opened her mouth, nothing came out and Matt looked increasingly concerned. “Ellie seriously, are you ok?”

“I, um, yeah… yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I just, my stomach started hurting. I think I ate something bad at lunch.” She said dismissively with a wave of her hand.

He looked really worried and she wondered just how bad she must look to get that kind of reaction. “Do you want me to drive you home?” Matt asked softly.

With a shake of her head she told him, “No, no, I’ll be fine. I drove here anyways, but I should probably get going, I really don’t want to throw up in public.” Ellie grabbed onto her bag and smiled gratefully as Matt walked her to her car. “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem, just let me know when you get home ok?” He asked and she agreed to it. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Once Matt had returned to The Grill, Ellie pulled out of the parking lot, but she didn’t head for her house. She drove the familiar route, undoubtedly breaking a few speeding laws in the process, but her panic blocked out the rational side. When she reached her destination she killed the engine and rushed up the front porch. Any other time, she wouldn’t have rung the doorbell like a mad man, but this wasn’t like any other time. The door opened and not even the relief of a familiar face was enough to calm her. “I need help.” She said breathlessly and she all but collapsed into the arms of the woman in front of her.

The woman caught her with ease. “My dear girl what’s happened?” She brought Ellie inside and sat her on the couch. “Ellie, dear you’re shaking.”

“I… I feel like I’m going crazy.” Ellie said as the older woman grasped on to her shaking hands.

“Why?”

“These things keep happening to me, and they shouldn’t be happening and I feel like I”m going insane because none of this should be possible and if it is then what does that even mean and I’m really scared and I don’t know what to do-”

“My girl, you’re rambling.”

“I think I might be a witch.”

The older woman’s mouth snapped shut in surprise. “What?” The woman’s question was soft, but didn’t make Ellie feel crazy.

“Bonnie keeps talking about how you keep saying she’s a witch and things keep happening that I can’t explain and I don’t know, you were the only person I could think of to go to for help.” Ellie said in a rush and Sheila Bennett, the blessed woman, only nodded calmly.

“It’s alright my girl. I’m right here, you’ll be fine.” Sheila assured her. “You were right to come to me, dear. But for me to explain I need you to calm down.” She waited as Ellie forced herself to calm down, the need for answers stronger than her panic. “Now, I want you to tell me what’s happened to bring you to my door.”

“Things have been happening since the crash, but it’s been happening more often and I don’t know why. Like my pencil stood on its end without falling, and I would put my things in one place and find them in another, or I’d see an unlit candle and boom it’s lit, just like magic. Or my windows would be closed and then suddenly they’re opened or vice versa. And before I came here, I knocked the salt shaker off the table and it was insane, the salt shaker landed perfectly upright, unbroken, and not a single thing of salt spilled. That’s not normal.”

Sheila didn’t seem like this was huge news, almost like she expected it? “My dear would you let me test something?” Sheila asked her. When Ellie nodded, she tried not to panic as Sheila lifted her hands and pressed them to Ellie’s temples. The older woman started muttering something under her breath and Ellie’s breath caught in her throat as the candles in the room suddenly burned brighter. After a moment the flames of the candles drop down to their normal size and Sheila removed her hands. “Just as I thought.”

“What is it?” Ellie asked nervously.

“You were right, Ellie. You’re a witch.” Sheila informed her and it felt like the rug had been pulled from underneath the teenager. 

“How is that possible?” Ellie questioned. “Witches aren’t real.”

Sheila laughed softly. “You’ll find that what you thought was impossible isn’t quite accurate my dear. I’ve been trying to tell Bonnie for quite some time that she’s a witch, but she dismisses me as a drunk, senile old woman. It’s quite alright, I’ll help you control it. I’ll teach you how to master your powers, how to improve them. One day you’ll need it.” Ellie didn’t let the warning scare her, instead she found comfort in the fact that she wasn’t crazy.

“What about Elena, is she a witch too?” Ellie asked.

“I’ve never felt that she was. You however, I knew there was the chance that you were a witch for a very long time.”

“What? How?” 

“You probably don’t remember, but when you were four, you’d come over to play with Bonnie. I’d come to check on you and the girls, but I’d only found Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline in here playing with their toys. I searched for you in a panic, only to find you sitting perfectly content outside. I went to get you and when I’d reached you, there was a perfect circle of fire in front of you and the leaves were floating around you, perfectly still despite the wind.” Sheila explained and Ellie searched in her mind, desperate for the memories. “I asked you what was going on and with the most innocent face, you told me you didn’t know, but you found the pretty fire circle and just wanted to watch it for a while. I’d brought you inside and nothing ever happened like that again, I thought maybe it would go away, and until now that’s what I thought had happened.”

“Why don’t I remember that?” Ellie questioned.

Sheila smiled softly. “You were a child that thought nothing odd of it, you probably didn’t find it significant enough to remember. If you want to learn to control it, you must be willing to put in the effort. It’s not a game. You can’t tell anyone that you’re a witch my dear, it could get you killed.”

“Not even Elena?”

“No, it could be dangerous, especially not before you know how to control it.” Ellie nodded to the older woman, she needed to learn to control her powers before even thinking about telling Elena. She would never want to accidentally hurt her sister. A moment after the thought crossed her mind, she was taken aback at how quickly she accepted it.

“Where do we start?” Ellie questioned, a look of determination coloring her features.

* * *

Ellie sat next to Caroline at the pay station for the car wash as the blonde went over the rules. “No friend discounts. No freebies. No pay you laters. We are not running a charity here.” Ellie smiled softly at how serious she was about this.

Elena, who was sharing the chair that Ellie was sitting on agreed, “No we are not.” The twins turned as Stefan approached. “Hey!” Elena said as she stood up. Seeing Stefan smiling softly at Elena left Ellie feeling pleased with herself and her decision to get him to come over last night.

Caroline also rose from her seat and informed the duo, “The event is called ‘ _ Sexy _ Suds’, you know.” 

As the blonde walked off, Stefan asked Elena teasingly, “Did we just get scolded?”

“And judged, yeah.” Elena confirmed as Ellie grinned, manning the station until Caroline returned.

“Wow.”

“I’m sorry but I guess you’re going to have to take that off.” Elena said with faux-innocence.

“I think you have to go first.” Stefan replied with equal innocence and Ellie tried not to cringe at their flirting.

Elena moved to take off her shirt only to get stuck and Ellie couldn’t help her gasping laughter to see her sister struggle. “Shut up Ellie!” She whined as Stefan moved to help her out of it. “Oh, sorry, so not sexy.” But Elena didn’t see the way Stefan was smiling fondly as he helped, but Ellie sure did.

Stefan brushed her hair from her face before cupping her face in his hands. “I disagree.” He said fondly and Ellie smiled at the cheesy couple. He leaned in and kissed Elena softly and Ellie felt her gaze pulled away until she noticed Matt, who was also watching the couple.

As she stood and walked over to Matt and Bonnie, she could hear the other girl warn Matt, “Uh uh, none of that tortured pining stuff.”

“I’m just observing.” Matt replied and both girls made a disbelieving noise.

A red car pulled in and Bonnie turned to call, “Oh, Tiki, this one’s yours.”

An awkward white boy got out of his car as Tiki walked over. “Why do I always get the homely ones?” Tiki asked. “Just to be clear, your car’s a POS. I mean, we can wash it, but it’s still a POS.”

“You don’t have to be rude.” Bonnie told her.

“No, rude is uglying up the road with that junker.” Tiki said as the boy threw his keys in his car and walked off.

“No, rude is thinking that being a bitch is a cute personality trait.” Ellie snapped. Tiki looked like she was about to say something and then thought better of it, instead putting the hose into the bucket of soapy water. The Gilbert felt her focus zero in on the bucket and her anger and suddenly, water exploded upward from the bucket, soaking Tiki. Ellie flinched back in surprise at the same time as Bonnie as Tiki shrieked. Bonnie looked pleased with herself and Ellie couldn’t help but wonder: did she do that, or did Bonnie? Or did they both somehow cause the water to explode?

Tiki was still shrieking as Matt ran in to snatch up the hose. Once he’d finally managed to get the hose, he laughed as he offered up a towel. “Wet and wild, Tik.” She and Bonnie went back to cleaning the car that they were working on as Ellie thought over everything that she and Grams had talked about last night. She’d walked Ellie through witch basics, how they were meant to keep the balance of nature, and how magic was a blessing but not to abuse it. Grams had explained that there was a place called The Other Side, and unlike regular people, it was where magical beings went when they died. Because of that, their magical ancestors weren’t entirely gone and that the deceased witches could bring aid to living ones. Ellie even learned a few basic spells, and to her childish delight, she learned how to make feathers float. When Sheila saw how natural it came to her, she taught Ellie how to light a flame without even having to say anything and had the young girl practice the spells repeatedly. She was brought out of her thoughts with a touch to her arm from Matt. Looking up at the blonde boy, he greeted, “Hey, I just wanted to check on you. You never texted last night.”

Ellie felt guilty and she was sure it showed on her face. “I’m so sorry Matt. by the time I got home my head was spinning and I was just exhausted, so I just went to sleep. I’m so sorry for worrying you.” It wasn’t the full truth, but it wasn’t a lie either.

He looked her over, and once he was satisfied to see that yes, she really was ok, he nodded. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, I’m feeling much better.” She replied, and unlike when Elena had said it, it was the complete truth. Knowing what was happening to her, knowing that she wasn’t crazy and that she had someone to help her through, did a great deal in helping her feel better. “Thank you for checking on me, I’m not really sure what caused me to get so sick.”

Matt looked sympathetic as he told her, “Well if you get sick again, let me know, I’ll take you home.”

“I will, promise.” She swore. “Now come on, we have cars to wash.” Eventually she found herself washing cars with Elena and Stefan. 

“You’re getting soap in that.” Elena said suddenly, staring down at the ring on Stefan’s finger.

He glanced at it before saying, “Oh, it’s fine.”

“I noticed that Damon has one, too. Is there a story behind it?” Elena said and Ellie narrowed her eyes. She knew when her sister was hunting for information, she just didn’t know why.

“Yeah, it’s the family crest from the Italian Renaissance.” Stefan admitted and Ellie looked up in surprise. That was actually fascinating. 

Elena moved to grab his hand and get a better look at it as she asked, “What’s the stone?”

“It’s called Lapis Lazuli.” Stefan informed her.

“Oh, you should really take it off. I could put it in my bag.” Elena offered.

“No it’s… it’s fine, really. Thanks, though.” Stefan declined and Elena made a face as Ellie watched her.

“Ok. I’m gonna get some towels.” Elena said as she walked off.

Stefan watched her as she went and Ellie just felt confused. “What was that about?” Ellie asked him.

Turning to her, Stefan just shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea.” He admitted.

“I thought dinner went well last night?”

“It did, it did.” He assured her. “It’s probably just healthy curiosity.”

Ellie nodded, but didn’t say anything more about Elena’s odd behavior. “That really is fascinating that you have a ring with a familiar crest from the Italian Renaissance.” She told him.

“It’s gaudy.” 

“It’s neat.” She corrected with a laugh. They washed the car together and after some time, Elena still wasn’t back. “I wonder what happened to her.”

They looked around and Stefan straightened when he caught sight of Elena. “There she is.” He shook his hands to rid himself of some of the bubbles as they walked over to the other Gilbert girl. “Caroline finally freed you, huh?”

“Uh, I don’t know where she went.” Elena said and Ellie could almost feel the way Elena was hiding something. “She abandoned me.” Stefan took Elena’s hands in his as she said, “Hey, I realized earlier, I had no idea that your family was from Italy.”

“No? Last name Salvatore didn’t do it for you?” He asked teasingly and Ellie grinned.

“No one ever accused her of being skilled in the power of deduction.” Ellie joked as Elena pretended to glare at her.

“Are there any other Salvatores in Mystic Falls?” Elena questioned.

“My Uncle Zach.”

“Where did everyone else go?”

“Kinda just spread out. Why?”

“I’m just trying to learn more about you.” Elena told him. “I’m gonna go see if Jenna has seen Caroline.”

When Elena started to walk off, Ellie rushed after her. “What the hell is going on, Elena? You’re acting sketchy.”

“I’m not acting sketchy.” Elena denied.

“You definitely are. Seriously what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing, I just need to do something.” Elena said vaguely as they approached Jenna. “Your car was done an hour ago.”

Jenna was quick to ask, “And you’re saying that out loud why?”

“Hi. Elena and Ellie, right? I think I met the two of you once when you were nine.” Logan asked as he shook their hands.

“Your emotional maturity level when we were together.” Jenna said sassily.

“Ouch. Here I thought we were making progress.” Logan bantered back.

Jenna grinned at him as Elena asked, “Is he enough in your good graces that I can ask him for a favor?”

“If I do her a favor, will I get back in your good graces?” Logan added on.

“A very reluctant maybe to both.” Jenna said unsurely.

“Done.” He replied immediately. “Wait, one condition. Dinner, tonight, your house.”

“Fine, but you’re eating leftovers.”

“Ooh.” Logan teased as Elena laughed. “What do you need?”

“Do you have access to old news stories, say, fifties?” Elena questioned and Ellie for the life of her could not figure out what her sister was getting at.

“Yeah, at the station. Between the archives and the internet, we have pretty much everything.” Logan informed her.

“I have this report way past due.” Elena told him and Ellie was shocked at how easily the lie fell from her sister’s mouth. She knew for a fact that there was no report. Especially not one that Elena would have that was way past the due date. “It’d be a life saver.”

“I’m heading there now.” Logan said. “Did you need access too?” He asked Ellie.

“Oh, no, I must have already gotten it done, but thank you for the offer.” Ellie declined and she could see Elena’s face, and she knew that Elena was aware that she’d been caught in her lie.

“If anyone asks, you don’t know where I went.” Elena said to Ellie and Jenna. “I don’t want Caroline to know that I left.”

“I should get back to the wash.” Ellie said as Elena disappeared with Logan.

“I should probably get my car and go.” Jenna said with a laugh.

“Ohhh, not gonna hang around now that your boy toy isn’t here?” Ellie teased.

“Shut up or you’ll be eating leftovers too.” Jenna warned, the threat unimpressive when Jenna was trying hard to not smile.

Ellie headed for Bonnie, stopping short when she heard Tiki telling her that Bonnie was on sweeper duty. “We have to clean the pavement.” Tiki said.

“It’s a car wash, by definition the pavement’s clean.” Bonnie asked.

“But not dry.”

“And I’m doing this why?”

“Caroline bailed, so that leaves me in charge.” Tiki said bitchily, handing the broom to Bonnie with a smirk before walking off. Ellie watched as Bonnie seemed to zone out, focused intently on the water puddled in front of her. As Bonnie stared, the water started to let off steam before a small fire erupted. It trailed down the water quickly, and a car caught fire. The Gilbert girl let out a gasp, and tried her best to stop the flames from spreading. She thought back to what Grams had gotten her to do the night before, the constant lighting and extinguishing and relighting of the candle flame.

She remembered the way the small flame had felt, and could feel the pull of the large fire in front of her. She could feel it trying to grow, but she wouldn’t ease up, forcing it down as she fought against Bonnie’s own magic. To her surprise, she could see Stefan rush up to her friend, shaking the girl. As Bonnie’s focus wavered ever so slightly, Ellie used it to her advantage and forced the flames to go out in an instant. Ellie watched as Stefan held onto the other girl, looking very concerned and briefly wondered if Bonnie’s secret was in danger. After a moment, Bonnie rushed away from Stefan, looking nervous.

After a while, Ellie found Stefan again, looking for Elena. “Have you seen Elena?” He asked her. Once again the fear for Bonnie’s secret made an appearance, but with a touch to his arm, the fear dissipated.

“No, sorry. I hate to ask, but Jenna was my ride and she’s gone, and Care was my backup, also gone… do you think you could give me a lift home?”

He didn’t even hesitate, “Yeah sure. Let’s go.” He told her and they made their way to where he was parked. As they walked, they came across Matt, who was in the process of cleaning the pavement. “Hey, have you seen Elena?”

“Nope, not for a while.” Matt admitted.

“You think she went home?”

Matt shook his head. “Not sure.” Stefan nodded and started to go on when Matt called them back. “Hey, I’m not saying this for you. I’m saying it for her. But she’s big on trust. So whatever you’re holding back from her, the more you try to hide it, the more she won’t stop till she figures it out.”

* * *

Once Stefan had dropped her off at home, Ellie was quick to get in her car and drive as fast as she could to Sheila’s. The older woman was ready before she could even ring the doorbell, and Ellie immediately began to tell her what had happened. “Earlier at the car wash, Tiki was being really awful to this guy, and then the water from the bucket like, exploded in her face, but I don’t know who did it. I don’t know if it was me or if it was Bonnie, because she got like this really dazed expression right before it happened and she looked pleased when it did. So I don’t know if she was just pleased because it was an accident, or if it was because she did it. Or maybe we both did it.”

“If both of you were mad at that girl, then it’s most likely that you both caused it to explode. What else happened?” Ellie explained that Bonnie had caused a fire to break out from the water, and that she’d kept it under control when it wanted to keep growing. “I’m very proud of you for keeping her magic in check. You’re a very quick study at all of this, it could have ended badly had you not done what you did.”

Ellie could feel the pride swell in her chest. She wanted to be good at this. “It felt just like the flame of the candle, only stronger. I felt really strong keeping it in control.”

“You are strong, dear. Stronger than you know. The more you practice and learn the stronger you’ll grow.” Sheila told her.

“Can we practice some more? I have a feeling that Bonnie’s gonna come to you tonight, so I don’t know whether you want me to be here or not.” Ellie explained.

“We have time. Come, I’ll teach you something new.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that's read this so far and given kudos! It means a lot to me for that! Also I want to give a special thank you to Lilmissbrave for commenting on basically every chapter. It means a lot to me, so really, thank you Lilmissbrave. Please leave a comment on what you guys thought!
> 
> Posted 3/4/20


	6. Lost Girls

**Chapter 6: Lost Girls**

_ September 30, 2009 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ Something is up with Elena. Last night she came in the house in a rush, and then stuff kept slamming around in her room. I wanted to talk to her, but I just didn’t know how without feeling like a fraud. I feel awful about not telling her everything, but Grams said I could tell her later on. She said that something like this is very dangerous knowledge, but if I had it under control then it would be infinitely safer. I just don’t know how long that will be. Still, I should probably try and talk to Elena and find out what was going on last night. _

By the time Ellie had gotten out of bed and made her way to the kitchen, Elena was long gone. It was curious, given that normally Ellie was the early riser between the two. “Morning.” Jeremy said with a groan as he flopped down at the counter to watch as Ellie made french toast.

“What would you do if I weren’t here to make breakfast for you?” She teased as she put the cooked slices on a plate and passed it to him.

“Be sad and probably starve. You’re the only one in the house that can actually cook.” Jeremy replied as he poured syrup on the stack.

She grinned at her brother as she continued to cook. He was right, Elena and Jenna were absolutely hopeless in the kitchen and Jeremy never bothered to try. “I mean, you’re not wrong.” She acknowledged. “Do you know where Elena went? She was gone by the time I woke up this morning which is really weird.”

He shrugged. “No clue, she seemed kinda freaked last night when she stuck her head in my room.”

“She did?”

“Yeah. I didn’t get a good look because I was in the middle of my game, but she was gone before I could pause it. Thought I heard her banging around in her room though.” Jeremy informed her.

“I heard that too. I don’t know, I’ll try and talk to her later.” She said as she dug into her own food. They mostly ate in silence, before Ellie stood to put her plate in the sink. “I have something to do after school so I’m not sure when I’ll be home.” Pressing a kiss to Jeremy’s cheek, she headed out. Despite having found out a couple days ago that she was a witch, she felt infinitely calmer with the knowledge of it. Ellie had already told Sheila that she would dedicate as much time as she possibly could to improving herself and her powers.

By the time she’d reached the school, she’d gone over the spells she’d been taught a million times in her head and was eager to get out of school so she could get to Sheila’s. Everything seemed more chaotic in the halls, but maybe the fact that the school was the last place she wanted to be had an impact on that. “Hey!” Caroline said brightly as she leaned against the lockers next to Ellie’s.

“Hey.” Ellie said as she pulled her books out. “What happened yesterday? You completely disappeared and Tiki was acting like a bitch the entire time.”

Caroline looked apologetic, but also confused. “I, um, sorry, I just had to go do something else and it took longer than I expected. I’m really sorry about bailing. How bad was Tiki?” She asked with a grimace.

“Tiki is a royal bitch that thinks way too highly of herself. So if it gives you any idea, she made Bonnie scrub the pavement to clean it.” Ellie informed her.

“What? It was a car wash, by definition the pavement was cleaned?”

“That’s exactly what Bonnie said. All it was was an abuse of power from Tiki. Honestly, she’s just a raging bitch that is bitter that you made captain so any chance she gets to be in control is ten times worse. Thank god she’s a senior. I cannot wait for the day I never have to see her again.” Ellie said with a huff as they made their way through the halls. “Have you seen Elena yet? She was gone before I was even up this morning.”

“Nope. Actually… I haven’t seen Stefan either.” Caroline said as she started to grin. “Do you think they ditched school to have crazy hot sex all over his house?”

The blonde added a little shimmy to her statement and Ellie gagged in disgust. “Unlike you, I don’t want to know about my sister’s sex life. Like at all, so please refrain from putting really gross images in my head.”

“Oh come  _ on _ ! I bet right now he’s got her pinned against his bedroom door and he’s gonna ri-” Caroline’s detailed idea of what was going down between Elena and Stefan was cut short as Ellie yanked off Caroline’s scarf and stuffed it in her mouth to muffle her.

“Disgusting.” Ellie told her as Caroline just laughed. “At least we made plenty of money at the fundraiser.” Her choice of distraction worked as Caroline switched to going over all the details of how much they’d earned and how they were going to put the money to use. It was when Ellie spotted Bonnie that she cut the conversation short. “Hey, I need to go talk to Bonnie. I’ll see you in English?”

“Ok.” Caroline nodded as Ellie quickly walked over to Bonnie.

She wondered if Sheila had told Bonnie that one of her childhood best friends was also a witch and that she was also as new as Bonnie was. Ellie also wondered if she could even tell Bonnie that she was a witch. Bonnie being a witch was something that Ellie had known before she’d figured herself out, solely because Bonnie had told her, along with Caroline and Elena and Stefan, not believing it to be true. Now, they’d found out that something so insane was actually quite possible, but were sworn to secrecy to protect themselves and each other. “Bonnie, hey.” Ellie greeted gently as the other girl started. Obviously her friend was stuck in her own head, trying to figure things out.

“Hey.” Bonnie repeated. Even if Ellie hadn’t known what was going on, she would have been able to tell that something was bothering the other girl. It felt like a relief to know that Bonnie would understand what was going on with her, but was it wise to say something if Bonnie didn’t know about her?

“Are you ok?” Ellie asked instead. “You look like you don’t feel too good.”

Running a nervous hand through her hair, Bonnie just laughed it off. “I didn’t get much sleep last night. I guess I was watching way too much Gossip Girl.” It was believable enough, to anyone other than Ellie. “I’m fine, really. I’ll probably sneak in a power nap in history though. All these substitutes and we aren’t learning anything. So it’ll be a good time to nap.”

Ellie wanted to protest, but instead she kept silent and looped her arm through Bonnie’s. “Ok. Well, make sure to get some sleep after school. You’re no good running on fumes.” She suggested lightly. Bonnie agreed as they made their way to class. “Man what happened at the car wash was really freaky wasn’t it?”

She tried to gauge the other witch’s reaction, but to her surprise the other girl kept a good poker face. “Yeah it was really strange.” Bonnie agreed. “It’s a good thing that no one got hurt.” Ellie could practically feel Bonnie’s poker face slipping the longer the silence lasted, until the other girl broke and said, “Actually, I think I left something in my car. I’ll see you in a bit.”

* * *

“Hey, Elena, I don’t know where the hell you are but I’m starting to get concerned. You skipped school and you were gone by the time I was up this morning which has happened literally never so… call me back when you get this or you know, I’ll kill you. And if you skipped school to screw Stefan’s brains out I’m gonna kill you twice for worrying me over that.” Ellie left the message for her sister before hanging up the phone. 

“Something wrong dear?” Sheila asked as she let the younger girl inside.

Ellie sighed heavily as she dropped her bag next to the door. “It’s Elena. She totally skipped school today and she’s not returning any of my messages. I mean Stefan skipped too so maybe they’re just together and doing stupid couple stuff but I’m just… I’m just worried about something happening to her.” She admitted as she followed Sheila into the kitchen to make tea.

“I’m sure she’s alright, but, if it would make you feel better, we can look and see for ourselves.” Sheila replied.

“We can what?”

The older woman turned to face her fully. “One common spell that I’m sure will come in handy is a locator spell. Of course there are different kinds, but I have one that could let you see her.” Sheila said it as if it were no big deal, but to Ellie it was insane. As much as she had accepted that she and Sheila and Bonnie were all witches, every time Sheila informed her of a new spell it was mind blowing. “But I must warn you, magic takes a toll on you.”

“What kind of a toll?” Ellie inquired.

Once she’d poured the water into the cups and placed in the tea bags, Sheila began to explain. “Magic, it’s like any other part of you, Ellie. Think of it as exercising. When you first start working out, you can’t immediately lift a hundred pounds or two hundred pounds. Even the best athletes have to start small. So you start with maybe twenty pounds and keep working until you can do more.” The chamomile tea was strangely relaxing and strangely delicious as Ellie continued to listen. “However, I’ll be here to help you, to make sure that you don’t overexert yourself.”

“I’m probably overreacting but…”

Sheila smiled at her. “But your world has just been turned upside down and you’re a bit more concerned about your loved ones. It’s perfectly normal. Finish your tea and then we’ll check in on your sister.”

Her gratitude was clear as she agreed. “Thank you.” After the tea was finished, Ellie straightened in her seat. “So how do we do this?”

“You’re twins which helps a great deal, but having something of hers will help as well.” Sheila said as she moved to clear space at the kitchen table. 

The young witch went and rummaged through her bag until she pulled out a bracelet. “This is Elena’s. I borrowed it last week and forgot to put it back. She wore this bracelet every single day in ninth grade.” Ellie said as she offered up the bracelet. “Will this work?”

“It will. Now, there are two ways to do this. If you just want to see Elena you can do the spell and focus your energy and your mind on seeing her. However, if you want to know where she is, then we’ll need a map.” Sheila explained as she grabbed a small tray and placed it on the table before placing the bracelet inside the tray.

“If I can just see her and know that she’s ok then that’s fine.” Ellie decided. Her eyes went wide when she saw the knife Sheila was holding. “Um… what’s that for?”

Seeing how nervous Ellie was, Sheila laughed lightly. “These things work best with blood. To see her, it’s best to have blood contact with her personal item. You being blood relatives will strengthen it. Even if we had used the map, we would have still needed your blood.”

Ellie wasn’t particularly excited to be cut, but her worry for Elena was enough to push past it. “Ok.” She agreed.

The duo sat down at the table and Sheila held out her hand. “I’ll try to make the cut as painless as possible.” She promised and with the slightest amount of hesitation, Ellie offered up her palm. Sheila drew a thin, long line across Ellie’s palm but to her surprise the young girl didn’t cry out in pain, only making a face in discomfort. “Now, pick up the bracelet in your palm and hold on to it.” Once she’d done as instructed, Sheila added, “Now, I’m going to give you a bit of a power boost to get started. Give me your other hand and repeat after me:  _ Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem. _ ”

“ _ Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem. _ ” Ellie repeated as her eyes fell shut.

“Now clear your mind and search for Elena.” Sheila told her before they repeated the spell together.

_ Suddenly, she could see Elena clearly. Her sister was driving her car as Stefan sat in the passenger’s seat and Ellie seemed to be sitting in the back. They were driving through a wooded area, completely silent. So quiet that not even the radio was on. The duo seemed the be in the middle of nowhere, but Stefan instructed Elena saying, “Stop here.” _

_ Her sister complied before following Stefan out of the car. “What are we doing here?” Elena asked as she lingered by the driver’s door, not quite following Stefan as he walked. _

_ Stefan turned back to look at her. “I want to show you something.” He said in response. _

_ “In the middle of nowhere?” Elena questioned, the skepticism in her voice clear as day. _

_ “This…” Stefan paused for a moment before finishing, “didn’t used to be nowhere.” _

Ellie gasped as she felt herself be pulled from the vision. Once she reoriented herself with where she was, she couldn’t help but notice how pleased Sheila looked. “What?” Ellie asked curiously and winced as a sharp pain shot through her head. “Is my head splitting open one of those growing pains you mentioned?”

“Yes, but when you’re truly pushing yourself too far you’ll have things happen like a nose bleed, or you’ll pass out. For you to manage a spell like this with only a few days of even knowing what you are, it’s quite impressive.” Sheila praised.

She shook her head in denial. “You were helping me, that doesn’t count.”

Even with her denial, Sheila didn’t look any less proud. “Ellie dear, I only helped you get started. You finished the spell and held the vision all on your own.” Sheila revealed and Ellie couldn’t help but feel pleased as well. From the way Sheila spoke, she’d pulled off quite a feat and for once she let herself feel that satisfaction. “Here, I’ll put on some more chamomile tea and get something for that cut. Use this to slow the bleeding.”

Taking the offered paper towels, Ellie pressed it down into the cut. It didn’t hurt as much as she thought it would but she couldn’t help the face she made at the weird yellow mixture that Sheila set down on the table. “What is that?” She questioned.

“That is one of the easiest ways to heal injuries that you may get. It’s not a cure all, but for things like cuts it’ll do the trick. I made the cut light, so one layer of that ointment should do. I’ll teach you how to make it once that one runs low. Now it’s going to sting a little bit but then it’ll feel much better.” Sheila told her and once she’d cleaned off her slit palm, she layered on a nice amount.

“Ow! That doesn’t feel good.” Ellie didn’t mean to whine, but it stung more than she’d expected.

“Give it just a second child.” Sheila advised and just like she said, the pain was gone faster than it came. “Better?” She questioned when she saw Ellie’s shoulders relax in relief.

“Much, thank you.” Ellie picked up the bloodied bracelet and moved to the sink to wash it off. “So is there a reason in particular that we’ve been drinking so much chamomile tea?”

Sheila hummed slightly as she put the tea bags in the cups. “Chamomile, it’s a powerful and underestimated herb. It’s good for regular people, but for witches, it can help after doing spells. It’s a good way to relax and mixed with other herbs, it can help heal you when you’ve exhausted yourself. It also helps with anxiety and by easing that, it can help you focus on your spell casting. I’d make it a habit to drink it.” She explained.

“I will.” Ellie agreed as she put the bracelet back into the bag and took the offered cup of tea. “So, does Bonnie know about me?” She questioned. “I kind of tried to see if she knew anything without giving myself away and she didn’t really let on that she knew.”

“She does not. She wasn’t exactly as ready as you were, a bit more panicked and concerned. I thought it best not to tell her something that could upset her even more. I’ll let you tell her if you want, once she’s a bit more adjusted to it.” Sheila explained. “Now I’ve got a new spell to teach you.” Ellie watched in interest as Sheila set out several dead flowers. “Bring it back to life.”

“Excuse me?”

“Bring it back to life.” She repeated seriously.

“How?” Ellie questioned as she straightened in her seat.

“Witches, we’re tuned in to nature and with that we have a natural affinity for things involving nature. Water, earth, fire, air, we can tune into them all. From that, we have a connection with all things, including plants. Plants and herbs are essential for a witch, and while reviving a plant might seem like something small, it can be quite handy to know how to do. Especially if you need something in particular for a spell. Now watch.  _ Belle la vie a cette fleur, maintentant. _ ” Sheila explained and Ellie watched as the dead rose in Sheila’s hand came back to life, the petals a bright and beautiful red.

A grin broke out on Ellie’s face as she leaned forward excitedly. “Oh my god that’s so cool. Ok, ok I got this.” She said as she forced herself to calm down and focused on recreating what she’d just witnessed. “Ok so what was it?  _ Belle la vie a cette fleur, maintentant. _ ” There was a flicker of a color in the dull petals of the flower she held and instead of letting herself be disappointed, she focused on the fact that she’d gotten  _ something _ on the first try. She slowed her breathing and repeated, “ _ Belle la vie a cette fleur, maintentant. _ ” The rose looked alive, but not nearly as healthy and bright as the one Sheila had created, but still she was proud of herself. She paused, amazed and fascinated as she set the flower back down. “That’s awesome.”

Sheila looked amused at her innocent reaction. “Good. Now do it again.” So she did. Again and again until her eyes hurt from staring at the flowers as they grew brighter and stronger. 

She groaned as she set the flower down and rubbed her tired eyes. “Is it supposed to be this exhausting?” She wondered as she took yet another cup of tea.

“You’re doing more magic at once than you ever have before, it’ll drain you. I think it’s about time we took a break from it. You always need to make sure to pace yourself, and I’ve made sure to keep a careful eye on how much energy you had left.” Sheila informed her as she cleaned up the salt. “Now, we can keep going but I think it might be best to take a break for today. You don’t want to do too much too fast.”

Ellie, who could feel exhaustion settling in her bones, hummed in agreement. “I think calling it a day for now is a good idea. I could really use a nap.” She admitted.

“Alright, get home safely and get some rest dear.” Sheila said as she stood to walk with Ellie to the door.

“I’ll see ya later Miss Sheila.” Ellie told her as she walked out of the house and headed to the car. 

For once, the drive home seemed to go quickly and she rushed up the stairs and to her room. Not even bothering to kick off her shoes, she flopped down on the bed and sighed in relief. As her luck would have it, the doorbell started going off. Someone was obviously desperate to be let in. “I’m coming!” Jeremy shouted as Ellie forced herself off of her bed to go to the door as well. Whoever it was, they were impatient and started beating on the door as Ellie was rushing down the stairs. “Hey.” Jeremy greeted as Vicki came straight in.

“The sun is killing me. My eyes are on fire.” Vicki complained as he shut the door.

“Where have you been?” Jeremy questioned as he reached for her, obviously concerned.

“It’s good, everything’s good.” She said as she pulled him in to kiss him.

Ellie cringed but Vicki paused in the heavy kiss, panting. “Did something happen?” He asked.

“I’m hungry.” Vicki said as she pushed him away and rushed for the kitchen. “What do you got to eat?”

The Gilberts followed after her and Ellie watched in confusion as the other girl started pulling their food out of the refrigerator. “You’re high?” Jeremy asked disbelievingly. “Vicki it’s the middle of the day.”

“Could you not talk so loud?” Vicki nearly shouted. “My head, it hurts. I need quiet.” Vicki started tearing into the food, looking so hungry that it wouldn’t be hard to believe that she hadn’t eaten in days. “I’m so  _ fucking _ hungry.” She all but whined as she tried to eat as much food as quickly as she possibly could manage.

Jeremy looked as confused and concerned as Ellie felt. She didn’t have much of a relationship with the older girl, but she’d known her for her entire life and seeing Vicki in such a state was concerning. Normally when Vicki got high she was pretty mellow. Maybe a little crazy and wild but in the sense that she would dance wildly and be playful. She was never… this frantic. As discreetly as she could manage, Ellie pulled Jeremy out of the kitchen slowly and into the hallway. “Jeremy, this isn’t normal for her right? Like this isn’t how she acts when she’s high?”

“No, this isn’t how she acts.” Jeremy confirmed.

“Do you think she could have taken some bad drugs?” Ellie questioned.

“I have no clue. Maybe? Do you think we should call Matt?”

She nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I really think that we should. Listen, Vicki obviously came here for you so I want you to stay in the kitchen with her, just… let her eat whatever she wants it’s fine. I will go call Matt and get him here. Just make sure she doesn’t leave.” Ellie instructed. She stuck her head back in the kitchen and saw Vicki was still devouring the food and once Jeremy was back in the room, she took off up the stairs. She searched through her bag frantically until she pulled out her phone and dialed Matt’s number.

After a few rings, Matt’s voice came through.  _ “Hello?” _

“Hey! Matt, I need you to come to my house like… right now.” She told him.

_ “Why? What’s going on Ellie?” _

“Vicki’s here. She’s high on something but she’s acting weird. Right now she’s in the kitchen eating everything she can get her hands on. Something seems weird with her Matt. Jeremy’s staying in there with her, but I really think that you should get here as fast as you can.” She explained and heard Matt shuffling around.

_ “Ok, ok, hang on I’m grabbing my keys and then I’ll be right there. Thank you so much for calling me Ellie. I’ve been worried sick about her.” _ Matt’s voice was heavy with relief.  _ “Ok. I’m on my way. I’ll be there soon.” _ He promised and the call ended suddenly. She shoved her phone into her back pocket and quickly made her way back down the stairs and to the kitchen. Vicki had poured herself something to drink and was chugging it like she’d not had a sip to drink in weeks.

“Matt’s on his way.” Ellie whispered softly to Jeremy. He nodded without taking his eyes off Vicki. “Has she slowed down at all?”

“Not even a little.” They watched worriedly until the doorbell started to ring.

Ellie practically ran to the door to let Matt in. “Where is she?” He asked.

“Come this way.” Ellie replied as she pulled him to the kitchen.

The other girl was sitting on the floor, the kitchen lights dimmed as she drank a can of soda. “What’s she on?” Matt asked.

“I...I don’t know.” Jeremy stuttered.

Matt slowly walked over to his sister and crouched down to her level. Once he carefully pulled off her sunglasses he asked her, “Hey Vic, how you doin?”

“Not good, Matty.” She admitted as she tried to catch her breath. “I hurt.”

“Ok, where’s it hurt?”

“My gums. My jaw hurts. My gums… there’s something in my gums, and it hurts.” Vicki was clearly in pain and Ellie’s heart went out for the other girl.

“Ok, well-”

Matt had reached for her arm, but she flinched and begged, “No, just leave me alone.”

“Come on, Vic. Don’t be like that. Let’s get you home.” He said softly.

“Just turn it off!” Ellie was surprised to hear the other girl nearly growl as she shouted at Matt.

“Turn what off?” Jeremy questioned.

“The talking, the chatter, just turn it off!” She got up and started to walk off in frustration only to pause, gaze locked on the news playing on tv.

It was Logan Fell, talking about bodies that had been found and police could be seen in the background covering up the dead. Jeremy moved forward to get a better look. His reaction and Vicki’s were enough to make Ellie and Matt concerned. Jeremy turned up the volume and Logan’s voice came through.  _ “Like something out of a horror movie. Three bodies were found dead in what is believed to be a drug deal gone awry. The bodies have yet to be identified. They were discovered earlier today over at the old Mystic Falls Cemetery.” _

Vicki had tears streaming down her face and Jeremy shouted in shock, “That’s where we were last night!”

“What happened, Vic?” Matt questioned.

_ “Officials say it is a suspected homicide, and are fast under way looking for suspects. They’re asking anyone with information-” _

Matt started to move saying, “I’m calling the cops.”

Vicki however, stopped him, pulling on his arm until he was standing still. “No, don’t.” She begged.

“What happened after I left last night, Vic?” Jeremy questioned but Vicki just shoved him. 

His back slammed into the couch before he fell to the ground, both Ellie and Matt moving to check on him. “Jer, you ok?” Matt asked.

“Vicki what the hell?” Ellie snapped, her brother was only trying to figure out what happened.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Jeremy snapped and Ellie could tell that other than his bruised ego, he was uninjured.

“Damn, Vic.” Matt said as he stood back up. Ellie spotted Elena and Stefan walking in and the anger she already felt from Vicki pushing Jeremy got worse at the sight of the sister that couldn’t even bother to return her calls.

“What’s going on?” Elena asked.

“She’s really messed up.” Matt told her.

Vicki looked distraught as her attention bounced between the Gilberts on the floor and Matt and Elena standing next to her. “Elena, back up.” Stefan said as he put himself between the two girls. “Vicki, look at me. Focus.” He spoke softly to the girl, raising a hand up to her jaw. “You’re gonna be fine. Everything’s gonna be fine.” Surprisingly, Vicki seemed to be calming down. “Guys, take her up to bed. Close the blinds. She’s gonna be ok. Come on.” He instructed and both boys moved quickly to comply. He ushered them, Ellie included, up towards the stairs to get Vicki settled.

They went to Jeremy’s room and as the boys helped her get pushed up in the bed, Ellie helped her pull her shoes off, sitting them on the floor next to the bed. Ellie’s anger to the older girl faded as she watched tears roll down Vicki’s face. She dashed to the bathroom and then back, holding up a tube of orajel. “Hey Vicki… I’m not sure how well it’ll work, but you said your gums were hurting. Maybe this will help?” She offered.

Vicki held out a shaky hand to take the tube. “Thank you.” She said softly and untwisted the cap to try and ease her pain. Once she was done, she recapped the tube and handed it back to Ellie. “I think it’s helping a little bit.” Ellie nodded in relief before she and Matt made their way out of the room. They pulled the door until it was about halfway shut, but paused for a moment to make sure Vicki was alright. They watched as Jeremy pulled the blanket up tighter around Vicki to help her stay warm. Vicki’s voice was soft as she told Jeremy, “I’m sorry, I’m so much trouble.”

“Hey, you just… you just need to sleep it off, ok?” He replied and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Ellie felt her heart warm in her chest at the sight of his affection. He moved to leave, but Vicki pulled him back down, teary eyed, and pressed her face into his shoulder. Jeremy held onto her tightly and at that, both Matt and Ellie turned to head downstairs.

“Hopefully, whatever she’s on wears off soon.” Ellie said as they both moved to the living room to readjust the couch from where it had been moved.

“Yeah hopefully. I’ve never seen her this messed up.” Matt agreed.

Unsure of what to say, she spoke truthfully. “Maybe she just got her hands on some bad drugs, or something that didn’t agree with her.” She suggested.

“Who knows.” They left the living room and before they could get to the kitchen, Vicki came rushing down the stairs, shoes in hand. “Vic? Vicki!” He called and took off after his sister with Ellie hot on his heels.

By the time they had gotten outside, Vicki was nowhere in sight. “What the hell? Where did she go so fast?” Ellie questioned as she looked around for the other girl.

She could hear Elena and Stefan as they ran out as well, Jeremy came a moment later, shouting, “She was fine and then she just… she just freaked out.”

“I’m gonna go look for her.” Matt told them. “Call me if you hear anything.” He took off running for his truck before they could even reply.

Stefan said something to Elena, his voice too low for Ellie to catch, but without turning to face him, Elena told him, “Go.”

* * *

Time seemed to pass far too slowly as they waited for news, so the Gilberts started to clean the mess in the kitchen the Vicki had made. Jeremy, like Ellie, was anxious and they found it hard to wait at home while Vicki could be in danger. “Maybe we should check in with Matt.” Jeremy suggested as he took the plates Elena handed to him.

“He’ll call when he finds her.” Elena said dismissively.

“Well what are we supposed to do?” Jeremy asked.

“We wait. We’re supposed to wait.” Elena replied.

Their brother looked defeated as he admitted, “I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”

“She’ll be fine. It’ll all be fine.”

Ellie shook her head at her sister as she saw Jeremy’s frustrated expression. “Why are we not out there helping to look for her? The more people out there looking, the higher chance we have of finding her.” Ellie told her sister.

“Because we should stay here.” Elena told her.

“Why? What good does us sitting here and doing nothing do? Elena what if she’s hurt?” Ellie tried, but for whatever reason Elena wasn’t budging. 

“She might come back here.”

“Then you stay here and me and Jeremy can go out and try to find her.” Before Elena could protest, Ellie continued, “Honestly what is going on with you today? I tried to reach you  _ all _ day and you couldn’t even bother to send a single text to let me know you were alive or with Stefan. Do you realize that anything could have happened to you and I wouldn’t have known because I had  _ no clue _ where you were? And now you’re acting so not like yourself with what’s happening with Vicki. Any other time you would be the first one to grab a flashlight and head out to look for her and now it’s like you don’t even care.”

“Of course I care! But staying here is the best option. They’ll find her and everything will be fine!” Elena started to say something else, but the doorbell ringing cut her off. All three siblings set down what they held in their hands and all but ran for the front door. Elena got there first and started to open it, only to immediately try and fail to slam it shut. It was Damon who easily forced the door wide open. “Jeremy, Ellie, go upstairs.”

Jeremy gave their sister an odd look, but did as he was told. Ellie, on the other hand, stood next to her sister protectively. “Elena, what’s going on?” She asked, her anger at her sister momentarily gone. She’d never liked Damon. So to see her sister seemingly afraid of him, was concerning.

“Ellie, just  _ go upstairs _ .” Elena insisted.

“No-”

“Ellie  _ now _ !” Elena practically shouted the order but never once took her eyes off of the older Salvatore. “Go.” With much reluctance, she backed away and headed up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, she moved out of sight, but crouched low to try and hear what they were saying. Her sister’s fear didn’t sit right with her, and she wouldn’t leave Elena in a potentially dangerous situation. Besides, if it became necessary, she could use her magic to stop Damon from doing… well anything that might hurt Elena.

She could just barely see Damon strolling into the house and the way Elena kept her distance. She could hear the door shut, but she could hardly hear what they were saying, something about an agenda and Stefan. Ellie could hear Elena telling Damon that he was looking for Vicki, as well as the disgusted tone she used. There was something about judgy eyes and Katherine and she could see Damon stepping into Elena’s personal space, trapping her up against the stairs. Something else about a life story and she took a step down to try and hear better. Damon had opened the door again and started to leave before popping his head back in. “Oh, tip for later. Be careful who you invite in the house.”

With a smirk, Damon was gone and Ellie was rushing back down the stairs. “Elena what the hell was that?” She asked. 

Her sister whirled around, startled. “I thought I told you to go upstairs.” Elena said.

Ellie scoffed. “Last I checked, I was older than you.”

“By  _ five minutes _ Ellie. I told you to go upstairs.” 

“Elena, I wasn’t about to leave you in a dangerous situation and for whatever reason, you were obviously scared of him. So yeah, screw what you told me to do.” Ellie retorted. 

Elena, instead of getting mad at Ellie for not doing what she said, just huffed out a sigh. “It’s nothing. He’s just a jerk.” It seemed like a lie to Ellie, but she decided for now to just let it go. “Look, Ellie I’m really really sorry for not letting you know I was ok. I was with Stefan and we were talking about stuff and I just had a million things on my mind. You’re right, I should have checked in and I’m sorry for worrying you and I know you’re mad at me for it but can I at least be forgiven?”

Seeing how pitiful her sister was, Ellie just groaned and pulled her into a hug. “Yes, you jerk, you’re forgiven. But if you scare me like that again I’m gonna beat you up.” Ellie threatened and Elena laughed, hugging onto her a bit tighter. “But really are you ok? Something seems off with you.”

“Yeah, it’s just been a long day.” Elena said.

“Definitely. Look, I think I’m gonna head up to bed. If they find her come get me and let me know ok?”

“Ok. Night Ellie.”

“Night Elena.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone reading this story! I hope you're enjoying it. Please leave comments to let me know how you're feeling or if there's anything you'd like to see. 
> 
> Posted: 3/11/20


	7. Haunted

**Chapter 7: Haunted**

_October 31, 2009_

_Dear Diary,_

_Well, Happy Halloween. Today is everyone’s favorite spooky day, and of course there’s a Halloween thing at school tonight. I’ve already got my outfit picked out, it’s gonna be a killer costume. I’m sure Caroline will have a fit over it. Of course, there have been other things to keep me busy. I’ve been practicing with her, a lot… like a lot a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever put so much time and energy into anything, not even cheerleading, but do not tell Caroline I said that. I’ve improved a lot, more so than what she was expecting in such a small amount of time. But I’m pleased that she’s impressed with me. Despite all the practice, I still haven’t told Elena. She doesn’t think that I’m ready to tell her yet and I know that she wouldn’t force me to keep this kind of secret if she didn’t find it necessary. Elena’s been acting pretty weird anyways but she won’t tell me what’s going on. I don’t know… I just can’t wait until I’m in the all clear to be honest with her. But Vicki… no one’s seen her since she ran from our house and I don’t have any personal items of hers I could use to try… you know. Jeremy and I have been out constantly trying to find her… I hope she’s ok. I don’t know that Matt and Jeremy could handle something happening to her._

Ellie and Jeremy stood in the bathroom, brushing their teeth quickly when Elena walked in. “Sorry.” Elena apologized as Jeremy rinsed out his mouth.

“Oh, no it’s cool. I’m done.” Jeremy told her.

“You’re up early. Where are you going?” Elena asked as she grabbed her own toothbrush.

“Police station. They’re organizing the search party for Vicki and Ellie’s gonna drive me so…”

“Wait. Shouldn’t you be going to school?” Elena asked him as he started to go back to his room.

“What? You’re kidding me right?” Jeremy replied.

“You shouldn’t skip school.” Elena told him. “If they find her, we’ll know. That’s what cellphones are for.”

“Yeah, your lips keep movin’ and I don’t know why.” Jeremy said as he walked back to his room and Ellie scoffed a little.

“You’re one to talk little miss skipped school last month to spend the whole day with Stefan.” Ellie retorted.

Elena turned to look at her. “You’re ok with him skipping school?”

“He’s going to the police station to try and help find someone he cares about. If it were Jeremy that disappeared we would be doing the same thing. I’m sure not being at school for something like this isn’t something the school board would get mad about. Besides, Jenna already told him she was ok with it. The only reason I’m not going as well is because I promised Caroline I’d help get all the stuff for the Halloween thing set up today.” Ellie explained. “It’s fine, Elena.”

She’d left the bathroom before Elena could protest and went to make sure that she had everything she needed. Jeremy was waiting anxiously at her door. “Ok, let’s go.” He said as he rushed them down the stairs and to her car. They were off to the police station in a hurry and Jeremy’s nervous foot tapping only made her all the more concerned for him.

“We’ll find her, Jer.” She promised as she reached over to give his hand a squeeze. She didn’t know if as a witch she had the ability to influence his mood, but she tried her hardest to make her grip a calming one.

Ellie was clueless as to whether she’d used magic to do it, or if she’d actually managed to calm him on her own, but his foot stopped tapping and he squeezed her hand back. “I really hope so. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to her.” He admitted. “I should have stopped her.”

“Jeremy don’t you dare blame yourself. Matt and I couldn’t even catch up to her before she disappeared. It is not your fault. And it’s not your fault that she took whatever drugs she took. We’re gonna find her and it’s gonna be ok.” She insisted. Every since Vicki had disappeared, Jeremy’s drug usage had really all but stopped. If Ellie had to guess, he was probably afraid of taking whatever had caused Vicki to act like that. While she was grateful for the dramatic cut in drug and alcohol usage, she hated that it happened because something had happened to Vicki. The rest of the drive went quickly, and soon enough Ellie was pulling up in front of the police station. “I’ll see you later, Jer. Be careful.”

He nodded and started to get out of the car before turning back. “Hey, uh, thanks for sticking up for me and my decision to come here with Elena. I really didn’t want to deal with her yelling at me about it.” 

“It’s what big sisters are for, Jer. Now go on and get in there before you miss something.” She told him. He grinned brightly at her before rushing off into the station.

Her drive to school was uneventful and as she got out of her car to head into the school, Tyler fell into step beside her. “Hey… you heard anything about Vicki?” Tyler asked and for once, the dickhead attitude was gone and in its place was a real concern for his ex-girlfriend.

“Unfortunately not, I’m gonna go see if Matt has. Wanna come with?” She offered softly. Even if he hadn’t treated Vicki well, he did care about her.

“Yeah.” He agreed and they headed for Matt’s locker. The blonde boy was pulling out binders to put in his locker as Tyler called, “Hey man.”

“Hey.” Matt replied.

“I heard they’re putting together a search party for Vicki.” Tyler started to say.

To Ellie’s great surprise, Matt told them, “She just called. She’s ok.”

“Oh, good.” Tyler said, his surprise as clear as Ellie’s. “That’s great. I figured you must have been goin’ out of your mind.”

“Little bit, yeah.” Matt admitted.

Despite Tyler’s good intentions, it was easy for Ellie to see the tension. “I was just gonna offer, you know, if there’s anything I could do.”

“I appreciate it.” Matt said honestly and Ellie smiled at them.

“Did Vicki mention when she was coming home?” Ellie wondered.

“Nah, I think it was more to just give me something so I didn’t go insane with worrying about her. I’m just glad she’s ok.” Matt said and despite Ellie’s intentions to say something else, Caroline was pulling her away.

“Sorry to steal her boys.” Caroline said, although it was clear that she wasn’t sorry in the least.

“Rude. I was talking to them, Care.” Ellie scolded lightly.

“You like me more anyways so it’s fine.” Caroline said as an excuse. They found Bonnie in an instant and Caroline passed a brown shopping back to her. “I have got your costume.” Caroline singsonged. “It’s all here.”

Caroline looked quite excited as Bonnie pulled out the costume and Bonnie made a face at it as her smile fell. “Seriously?” Bonnie asked, unimpressed.

“Come _on_. Can someone please be excited that it’s Halloween?” Caroline pleaded. “I just wanna have fun, you know, just some silly, fluffy, Damon-free fun.”

“I am, as always. I even have my costume picked out already.” Ellie informed her with a grin.

Caroline perked up immediately. “What are you going as?”

“My lips, my dearest Blondie, are sealed.” Ellie retorted with a smirk.

Bonnie had continued looking through her costume, before pulling up a necklace saying, “Hey, isn’t this the one you got from Damon?”

“Yep. Wear it. Toss it. I don’t care.” Caroline said with a shrug. “I just want it gone.” The blonde straightened up suddenly and turned to Ellie and Bonnie. “Hey have you seen Elena? Do we know what she’s wearing?”

“I was with Grams all weekend.” Bonnie said with a shake of her head. “I haven’t talked to her. Maybe she’s with Stefan.” 

Ellie was aware that the other witch had spent the weekend with their mentor, but she still didn’t think that Bonnie knew. “I saw her this morning, but I didn’t ask about her costume. Sorry Care.”

“Riding to his castle on his white horse.” Caroline said bitterly.

“Don’t be bitter.” Bonnie told her. “It provokes wrinkles.”

The blonde scoffed at her. “Haha, you’re hilarious Bonnie.” Caroline sassed.

They started to walk as the bell rang, signalling that they had five minutes to get to class. “Hey guys, I need to call Jer really quick. Go on ahead.” Ellie told them. Caroline and Bonnie waved as they headed off. She dialed his number and before it could hit the fifth ring, he’d answered. “Jeremy, hey!”

 _“Hello… hey. What’s up?”_ He questioned, his voice was low and she could hear Sheriff Forbes talking in the background. _“Sheriff Forbes is going over the plans to look for Vicki what’s going on?”_

She felt herself grin in excitement. “So, I talked to Matty and apparently just before I came to talk to him, Vicki called him.” The moment the words were out of her mouth, she could hear him choke slightly in surprise.

 _“Wait. What? Seriously? Oh my god.”_ His whispered voice was almost frantic. _“Do-does he know where she is? Does he know if she’s coming home? Is she ok? Did she tell him?”_

“Breathe, Jer. To answer your questions, no he doesn’t know where she is. She didn’t tell him. And no, she didn’t say if she was coming home or when she was coming home. She did, however, let him know that she was ok.” Ellie explained.

His relief turned to something else a moment later. _“Wait… if she called Matt… why didn’t she call me?”_

Her heart ached for her baby brother. As glad as he was that she was ok, he wanted to talk to her for himself. “I’m not sure, Jer. Maybe she just hasn’t had time to yet?” She suggested.

 _“Yeah maybe.”_ She could hear the disbelief, but the bell signalling the start of class had already rung. _“That was the bell… you should go. I’ll talk to you later.”_ Jeremy hung up quickly and his disappointment had her hoping that Vicki would call him sooner rather than later.

* * *

After school, Ellie was sitting in Sheila’s living room, a place she was starting to be more often than not. “So, what have you started teaching Bonnie?” Ellie asked curiously.

The older woman raised an amused eyebrow at her. “Worried that you’ll fall behind on the learning curve?” She teased softly.

“Nope, just healthy curiosity.” Ellie said with a grin.

“Bonnie… after I explained to her that she was a witch, she didn’t return to me for quite some time. It wasn’t until this past weekend that I taught her anything at all. It’s been explaining out family history to her, and about Salem. She… she wants to get to the ‘fun part’. She wants to play with her magic. Which I understand, but until _she_ understands what all of this means, she’s not ready to learn the way of our kind. She needs to understand us before she can begin to practice.” Grams told her.

“But magic, part of it _is_ fun.” Ellie argued.

Grams laughed at that. “I know dear, but I don’t want her going into this thinking it’s all fun and games.”

Ellie took a moment to collect her thoughts before asking, “If you’ve had Bonnie waiting for days, and you haven’t taught her anything… why was I taught right away?”

She seemed to be expecting this question. “You and Bonnie, you’re different. Bonnie isn’t focusing on the dangers, she sees the childish fun she could have. You however, the moment I told you about the potential dangers you got focused. It was your determination to control it, to not hurt your loved ones that made you different. As well as a certain magical display from your childhood. Bonnie, I could feel the magic in her, but she didn’t show signs of it. Some people can be witches and never tap into their powers. The things I taught you at first were things that you could have done accidentally anyways, it was better to teach you to control those as opposed to them happening accidentally and you not knowing what to do.”

“Oh.” Ellie replied.

“Besides, the repetition of the spells did a great deal of good.” Grams added. “So, if you’re worried about Bonnie getting ahead of you. You’re doing just fine.” She added with a wink.

“You’re hilarious Grams.” Ellie said sarcastically. “Well what about the locator spell we did that day to find Elena?”

“I was right here with you the whole time. If the situation were to get dangerous I could have stepped in to help. You haven’t performed it on your own have you?” Her tone was that of warning.

“No, I haven’t needed to. Although I wish I could, to find Vicki. She did call Matt though so hopefully she’s ok.” Ellie said, lost momentarily in thought. She snapped out of it and asked, “Can I learn something else?” Grams smiled at her enthusiasm and motioned for Ellie to put down her tea and follow. The young witch did just that and watched Grams pick up a handful of dead roses. She handed the bunch to Ellie and with a nod of Gram’s head, Ellie uttered the now familiar spell. “ _Belle la vie a cette fleur, maintentant._ ” Despite how many times she casted the spell, she still felt quite pleased to see the flowers return to full bloom, colors bright and beautiful. “Ok… now what?”

Grams pulled a single rose from the set that Ellie had. “Watch.” She instructed before saying, “ _Tomar lento. Na paz, amor._ ”

A shriek of surprise came from Ellie as the flower in Sheila’s hand exploded and petals were floating down. “Ok, I know I say it every time I learn something, but that’s _awesome_ .” Ellie cheered. “Ok, ok, ok, let’s do this.” She said as she set down all the flowers onto the kitchen table except for one. With a deep breath, she straightened up and repeated, “ _Tomar lento. Na paz, amor._ ” Like what happened with Sheila’s, her flower exploded and the petals fell like rain.

The young witch was positively beaming at Grams as the older woman gave her praise. “Very good. Now get the rest of the bundle and do it again.”

“At once?” Ellie questioned for confirmation.

“Mmhmm. Think you can handle it?” Grams taunted teasingly.

“Of course I can.” Ellie said with confidence, still smiling at Sheila. “ _Tomar lento. Na paz, amor._ ” This time, it really was like it was raining petals, as opposed to the few that come from a single rose. “That’s fantastic.” As they always did, they spent ages letting her repeat the spells and as night started to fall, Ellie remembered what she had planned. “Oh! Grams, I gotta go, the Halloween dance starts in a bit and I need to go home and get ready.”

Sheila nodded as she moved to get the broom to clean up the petals. “I thought you would be. Go ahead dear, I can sweep up the petals. Have a good time at the dance young lady.”

“I will! See you later!” Ellie said excitedly as she rushed to get her bag and get to the house. The drive went by quickly in her excitement and as she came in, she could hear her brother’s voice from the kitchen.

“You gotta call me, Vic.” He was saying as Elena reached the foot of the stairs. “I don’t get it. What’s going on with you? Just… just call me please.” 

She and Elena stepped into the kitchen as he ended the voicemail. Elena was the one to greet their brother. “Hey.” He turned back to glance at her, but didn’t say anything in acknowledgement. “So, um, do you wanna hang out tonight? Maybe all three of us?” She suggested. “We could go to the, uh, Halloween thing at school. Could be fun.”

“Yes. Say yes, Jeremy. As the oldest I command you.” Ellie joked, pointing a dramatic finger at him.

After a moment, he said, “Cool. sure. Sounds, uh… sounds fun. Can’t wait.”

“Yes!” Ellie cheered. “My powers of oldest Gilbert control are still effective.”

The corner of Jeremy’s lips quirked up into an almost smile as he rolled his eyes at her. “You weirdo. Let me go find something.”

He had started to leave, when Elena called back, “I know you’re upset about Vicki. I heard she called Matt, but you can’t be with her. She needs to get better. The best thing you can do for her is let her go.”

Ellie knew her look of confusion mirrored her brother’s as he asked, “What does that even mean ‘let her go’? Oh, ok, sure. Since we’re such experts on letting people go, right?”

“I know you may not see it, but trust me, Jer. It’s for the best.” Elena told him and Ellie fought back the strong urge to sigh. Sometimes Elena really just had no clue on what not to say to their brother, and _that_ should have never come out of her mouth.

Jeremy walked back towards Elena and leaned down slightly to get a bit more in her face. “Look, for months after mom and dad died, I felt like crap. Like ‘nothing really even mattered’ crap. Now all of a sudden, I get these moments and things started to feel just a little bit better. And Vicki was in every single one of them. So you may not see it, but trust me, keeping me away from her is not for the best.” With that, Jeremy turned and walked out of the room, leaving the twins alone.

“Elena!” Ellie scolded. “What the hell was that about?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I only told him the truth.” Elena tried to say.

“No. Elena you were rude. How on earth do you know what’s best for him? Or for Vicki for that matter? I have heard literally no one ever say that it’s easier for a person to get better when the people they care about abandon them and that’s what you’re telling Jeremy to do. When have you even stopped to really talk to him about what he’s going through since mom and dad died? All you’ve done is tell him what he should and shouldn’t be doing Elena and that is the last thing he needs from you.” Ellie snapped.

“Ellie…”

Her twin wasn’t having it. “No. And on top of that you’re gonna be a hypocrite now too? You told Jeremy _this morning_ to not skip school to go to the police station to help find his missing girlfriend and then _you_ turn around and the very same day skip school with Stefan, _again_ might I add because you did it last month too. So maybe, for once, stop trying to control him and what’s he doing if you can’t even practice what you preach.”

Elena looked shocked at her sister’s outburst, but Ellie knew it was coming for a while. “That’s not fair.” Elena protested.

“ _Not fair_?” Ellie asked with a scoff. “Have I said literally anything that wasn’t true, Elena? Besides, you have been critical and disapproving of them being together since day one and for what reason? She made him happy and yes, she might have a drug problem but when he was with her he actually wasn’t using as much as he had been before. So why did you have such an issue with it?”

“She’s older than him.”

“So? There’s not that much of an age difference.”

“And yes, I didn’t like that she’s a druggie.”

Ellie scoffed. “News flash Elena, so was Jeremy.”

“Besides, its weird that she and Jeremy are dating after me and Matt dated.”

“Elena, your relationship with Matt should have literally zero impact on his relationship with Vicki. That has nothing to do with the two of them. Could it make you feel awkward? Yeah and it’s not weird for it to be a little weird for you and Matt, but that doesn’t mean you should have any say in whether or not they can date. You don’t get to control that. You never saw Matt trying to involve himself in their relationship, did you? No, because he respected the decision they decided to make. Maybe you should take a page out of his book and give Jeremy that much respect. I’ve gotta go get ready.” Ellie turned on her heel and left the kitchen before Elena could respond, leaving the younger twin in the kitchen, dumbfounded as to what just happened.

She made her way up to her room and pulled her costume. It was a deep red witches costume that she’d seen in an antique store as opposed to a regular store bought costume. Despite the small price for the dress, that material seemed to be quality and she slipped into it. The black accents on it really made it something special. It didn’t take long for her to style her hair, adding in some blood red clip in extensions to her brown hair to match the outfit as well as a red lip. Soon enough the trio were out the door and, since she was still kind of mad at Elena, she didn’t say anything about her usage of her Halloween costume from last year. The ride to the school was awkwardly silent, and Ellie was quick to get away from Elena and split up to avoid the awkwardness.

As she walked over to where she could see Bonnie and Caroline, she adjusted the witch’s hat on her head. Caroline was the one to spot her first. “Holy _shit_ , Ellie you look amazing!” The blonde yelped as she hugged her. “Oh my god, look at us. A little coven!” Caroline gushed before giving Bonnie a wicked grin. “Be careful Bon. I think Ellie just out-witched you.”

“Feel free. I didn’t want to be a stupid witch anyways.” Bonnie replied and Ellie wondered if she meant the costume, or being an actual witch as well.

“We can be the best witch bitches together.” Ellie offered with a grin. She fell into place next to Bonnie and Caroline in front of the cauldron and watched as people ran about laughing and screaming.

Tyler approached them, dressed as a Spartan no less, and holding up glasses of cider. “Cider for the ladies?” He offered. “It’s a Lockwood special.”

“No way.” Bonnie denied. “Last year, I was hung over until Thanksgiving.”

“Lightweight.” Caroline told her. “I am going to drink until someone is hot enough to make out with.” Caroline explained as she picked up a cup.

“Sounds like a plan.” Tyler raised to toast with the blonde 

“Well if I’m going to have to be looking at _that_ the whole night, I’m probably going to need something to make it an easier sight.” Ellie mocked playfully as she motioned to Tyler’s costume which left his abs on display and grabbed a glass from Tyler as well.

“Ouch, and here I thought I looked good.” He shot back, pulling her into his side to make her squirm.

“Disgusting.” She said but they were all grinning as the three with drinks toasted before taking a drink. “Damn that’s strong, Ty.” Even with the strength, she chugged her glass and then snatched Tyler’s away to finish his as well. Almost immediately, she felt a little bit floatier and pressed a kiss to Tyler’s cheek before announcing, “Well ladies and idiot, I’m off to find my darling twin. Cheers.” She found them headed for the building and looped her arm through Elena’s. “Ok… no more weirdness? I wanna have fun tonight.”

Thankfully, her twin took the olive branch with a grateful nod. “No more weirdness.” She promised and just like that the tension was gone and they kept heading inside. Jeremy screamed to scare some kids, causing both twins to laugh as they whacked him.

Matt was grinning as he walked over to them, also in last year’s costume. As he pulled out a fake hand from his pocket he said, “You went with last year’s costume too, huh?”

“Yeah. I didn’t know that I was coming till an hour ago.” Elena admitted.

“Me neither.” Matt told her and with a giggle, Elena hi-fived her fake hand to Matt’s. The blonde boy turned to Jeremy and said, “And you’re going as… you?”

Jeremy wasn’t having it, and walked off without a word. Well, Ellie had thought that the weirdness was gone. Maybe she was just tipsy enough to ignore her anger at Elena, but Jeremy wasn’t. “He’s not talking to me right now. We got into a fight.”

“Which you should apologize to him for because you were in the wrong.” Ellie singsonged… yeah, guess she wasn’t over it either.

Elena gave her a frustrated look but her attention shot back to Matt as he said, “Yeah, I got into it with Vic, too, when she got home. I’m trying not to smother her tonight, but part of me doesn’t want to let her out of my sight.”

“She’s here?” Elena questioned, the pitch of her voice rising.

“Yeah. You can’t miss her, she’s a vampire.” Matt informed them.

Ellie was confused as Elena started to breathe heavily. “Where did Jeremy go?”

“Elena, what’s the matter?” Matt asked, just as worried as Ellie was.

Her sister didn’t respond, so she too tried to get her attention. “Elena?”

“I-I’ve gotta find him.” Elena said as she rushed off.

“What the hell was that about?” Ellie questioned but Matt was just as clueless.

“I don’t know.” He said and Ellie went off to try and find her psychotic sister.

As she wandered around, it wasn’t Elena that she stumbled upon, but Vicki. “Vicki, oh my god! I’ve been so worried about you!” She exclaimed as she pulled the older girl into a tight hug. To her surprise, Vicki returned it but she seemed to be in pain. “Hey are you ok? Here come in here.” She said as she pulled the other girl into a classroom. Vicki immediately looked better and Ellie nodded sympathetically. “Yeah, the noise and the people can be a bit much sometimes yeah?”

“You have no idea.” Vicki agreed. “Why do you look so happy to see me?”

Ellie was surprised by such a question, but recovered quickly and answered honestly. “I know we aren’t super close Vic, but I’ve known you my whole life and Jer really cares about you. That automatically makes you someone I care about too. Plus you’re good for Jer.”

“You really think so?” Vicki asked softly as she fiddled with the ends of her sleeves.

“Mmhmm I really do. He’s definitely been better about the drugs and alcohol because you make him happy. We’ve been worried sick about you. Are you feeling any better?” Ellie questioned.

Vicki seemed to think it over and then nodded. “Yeah, I’m still working on it, but I think I’m getting there. I just… I wanted to see Jeremy. I know I upset him by not calling sooner and the last thing I ever want to do is hurt him.”

“Oh I know that Vicki.” Ellie said as she gave her a warm smile. “Besides, if I ever even thought you had intentions to hurt Jer, I’d have given you that big sister threat ages ago. You know what I mean.”

Vicki pulled her into another tight hug and after she let go, she grinned at the GIlbert. “If I’m honest, I always liked you better than Elena. You never treated Matty like crap.”

“Oh, you’ll never have to worry about me hurting him. He’s one of my favorite humans.” Ellie joked before leaning in conspiratorially. “If I’m honest, I always knew you liked me better.”

The duo laughed before Vicki moved to the door. “Thanks for pulling me in here for a breather, and thanks for being so nice to me, Ellie. I’m gonna go try and find Jeremy.”

“Have fun!” Ellie told her. “And don’t do anything in public that a five year old shouldn’t see.” Vicki’s grin was wolfish, no other way to describe it, and then the Donovan girl was gone. Ellie was still in search of her sister when she ran back into Matt. “Well, I haven’t found my sister, but I did find yours.”

They walked through the crowds together as he asked, “How was she?”

“Seemed a little overwhelmed with the music and people, but I think we were just in a crowded area. I pulled her into a classroom to give her a breather and she seemed fine after that.” Ellie informed him.

“Thanks.”

“She’s your sister, Matt. it’s no problem.” Ellie assured him.

It wasn’t much longer before they stumbled across Stefan, Vicki, and Elena with the latter saying, “I was worried.”

Ellie just sighed at the sound of her sister’s attitude. Obviously whatever buzz she’d had from Tyler’s drinks had worn off. “What’s goin’ on?” Matt asked as he moved to stand near Vicki protectively.

“Hey, uh, everything’s fine.” Stefan said but after a moment, Vicki yanked her arm from Stefan’s hold and moved to stand behind Matt and Ellie.

“I told you to quit bothering me.” Vicki told Stefan, who looked entirely confused.

“No, Vicki, don’t do this.” Elena said as she looked between Stefan and Matt.

“Matt, he won’t leave me alone.” Vicki said with wide fearful eyes.

Her brother immediately moved to stand in front of Vicki to block Stefan from her. “You need to back off, man.”

“Matt, it’s-it’s ok.” Elena tried to say.

“No, it’s not ok.” Matt snapped at her before getting in Stefan’s face. “What the hell is your problem?

Ellie felt the air around her shift and then saw Elena’s panicked expression. “Stefan, she’s gone!” Elena dropped her stethoscope as she took off running.

The Salvatore tried to push past Matt but the blonde grabbed his shoulder. Ellie yelped slightly as Stefan turned and forced Matt against the wall. “Stefan!”

“I’m trying to help her.” Stefan insisted and after a tense moment he released the other boy and went after Elena.

“Jesus Christ, what the hell is going on tonight? Matt are you ok?” Ellie questioned as she straightened out Matt’s costume.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. I need to find Vicki. I don’t know what’s going on.” Matt told her.

“I’ll help you.” She assured him and what felt like the millionth time that night, they went off on their search. They asked countless people if they’d seen the Donovan girl, the faces blurred but the responses practically all the same. After a while, Ellie was wondering if they’d ever find the girl, when she’d spotted her sister. “Hey, look there’s Elena!”

Matt instantly spotted her and shouted out, “Elena!” They ran over to her and Ellie immediately spotted the blood now splashed on her sister’s clothing. “Hey, have you seen-” Matt’s question ended abruptly as he too spotted the blood. “Whoa, wh-what happened?”

“Elena are you ok?”

Her sister tried to brush them off. “Nothing. I’m fine. Some idiot with some fake blood got me. I’m gonna go home and shower.”

Ellie assumed that must have meant that Stefan was taking her home, but as Elena had started to go, Matt blurted, “I-I can’t find Vicki. She totally bailed on me.”

Elena looked like she was tearing up as she said, “I don’t know where she is.”

“Is this what I’m in for? A lifetime of worrying about her?” Matt asked as his shoulders dropped in defeat.

Despite Matt being upset, all Ellie could focus on was how distraught Elena seemed as she told her ex, “You’re a good brother, Matt.”

“Yeah.” He said with a scoff. “Maybe she went home.”

“Maybe.” Elena agreed. “Ellie… can I just drive the car home?” With how upset Elena seemed, she didn’t even protest and just handed over the keys. “Thanks.” 

As Elena walked off, Ellie turned to follow after Matt, catching him at his car before he went home. “Hey Matt!” She called and when he turned she pulled him into the tightest hug she could manage. If she couldn’t figure out what was going on with Elena, the least she could do is comfort one of the boys that had been her best friend her entire life. “I’m sure Vicki will be ok and even if this is what your life looks like I will always be here to try and make it better ok?”

She could feel him relax into the hug, gripping her back as much as she held onto him. Ellie let him hang onto her for as long as he needed and by the time they broke apart, to her relief, he did in fact look a little better. “Thank you, Ellie. You’re a really good friend and I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Matt admitted.

“You’ll never have to find out.” She promised. “Let me know when you get home safe, and let me know if she’s there.” The rest of the Halloween event consisted of Ellie worrying over her friends, trying to do everything Caroline asked of her, and making sure that her particularly drunk friends -- Tyler -- got home safely. By the time she got home, both Jeremy and Elena were sleeping peacefully in their rooms and Jenna was sitting on the couch and eating ice cream while she watched trashy reality tv. Desperate for the escape of mindless tv, she quickly changed out of her costume and washed her face before joining her aunt. All she could hope for was a better day tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think of this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. Also please everyone stay safe while we deal with the corona virus. I hope you all are ok! Make sure to wash your hands and try and self-quarantine if you can.
> 
> Posted 3/18/20


	8. 162 Candles

**Chapter 8: 162 Candles**

_ November 1, 2009 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ Vicki disappeared again, but Jeremy seems ok…. Like weirdly ok. We’re going to the police station to answer some questions. This probably hasn’t been easy for Matt and I hope that she comes back soon. I just hope that all of the weirdness kind of just ends and Mystic Falls goes back to the town that nothing weird ever happens in. But we’re all going down to the police station to answer some questions, hopefully it helps. _

Everyone being up and getting ready at once was… hectic to put it lightly. By the time they were actually headed to the station, they were five minutes later than what they should be. Ellie blamed it completely on Elena, who had stolen her straightener so that she could do her hair first. “We’d have been on time by now if  _ someone _ had waited their turn.” Ellie said sassily as Elena rolled her eyes.

“I wanted to get my hair done.” Elena said without guilt.

“You take five million years to do your hair, Elena! I could have straightened your hair  _ and _ mine in half the time it took for you to do yours.” Ellie complained, but her twin just shrugged her shoulders. The teenagers bickered back and forth playfully and Ellie reveled in the normalcy. Sitting at the police station was kind of tiring honestly. The sheriff wanted to talk to all of them individually and after what felt like an eternity, it was Ellie’s turn.

Once they got past the basics and started getting to questions about Vicki’s latest disappearance, Sheriff Forbes asked, “Where did Vicki say she was going?”

“From what I know, she didn’t say, and when I talked to her at the Halloween thing, she didn’t mention it to me.” Ellie answered.

“Did she tell her brother where she was going?”

“Not that I’m aware of, Matt didn’t say anything to me about it.” Ellie replied. “Apparently, she told Jeremy to tell Matt that she was leaving again.”

“Well is there anyone I can talk to that may know what happened to her prior to leaving town?” Sheriff Forbes questioned.

“Uh… Stefan maybe. Stefan Salvatore. He told Matt at school that he was trying to help Vicki.”

“And why would Stefan Salvatore get involved with helping Vicki if they don’t really know each other?”

Ellie thought about it for a moment. Why  _ would _ Stefan be so intent on helping the other Donovan? “I’m not sure, but if I had to guess, probably because of Elena.”

“Why would Elena want Stefan to get involved?”

“Maybe she thought that helping Vicki helped Jeremy in some way? I couldn’t be sure.”

“And what was her behavior like those last few days before she left?” Sheriff Forbes asked as she scribbled down notes.

“It was a weird back and forth. She would be fine one minute and not the next. I think she was on some drugs that were really messing with her.” Ellie admitted.

“Any signs of aggression or violence?”

“No not really.”

After a pause, Sheriff Forbes asked, “So you believe that Vicki really has left town?”

“Yes.” A few questions later and they were finished. She met Jeremy, Jenna, and Elena back in the front of the station and walked out together. “It’s too early for an interrogation.” Ellie said as she stretched out.

“Agreed.” Jenna said as they walked out of the station. Ellie immediately noticed Stefan lingering next to the police cars and glanced back at Elena. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure if Stefan and Elena were still together. It was like a constant back and forth with them and even if they weren’t they were spending an awful lot of time together it seemed. Since when did Elena not tell her everything about her relationships? She used to tell Ellie everything and now it seemed like Elena was keeping more secrets than her twin was.

“I’ll meet you guys at the car.” Elena told them.

“Ok.” Jenna said and the three continued to the car with Stefan nodding to both Jenna and Ellie as they passed. Ellie watched them over her shoulder as she walked and she couldn’t tell if they were arguing or not. Elena looked frustrated and Stefan looked kind of desperate. Did they have a fight? It was a startling realization to suddenly feel so out of the loop with Elena. Their conversation didn’t last long, and soon enough Elena was walking away as Stefan watched her dejectedly. 

Elena got in the car silently and with the radio playing from the front seat, Ellie could talk to her without really being overheard. “Is everything ok, Elena? Things seemed kinda tense with you and Stefan back there.” She questioned.

Her sister fiddled with the strings on her bag as she shrugged. “Yeah, everything is fine. Just a little whatever at the moment.” Elena said nonchalantly. If there was anything Ellie would say that her sister wasn’t it would be nonchalant.

“Elena, you gave me every  _ single _ detail of the fight you had with Matt when he so much as suggested that  _ maybe _ he didn’t like the dress you were wearing to the dance and you two weren’t even dating yet. So why are you being so hush hush about your relationship with Stefan now?” Ellie asked.

There was an undeniable look of frustration on Elena’s face, but still she didn’t say a word. “Really, Ellie, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” Elena told her but Ellie could tell that something was really bothering Elena.

So despite her urge to pry, she grinned wickedly at her sister and said, “Do I need to kick his ass?”

It startled a laugh out of Elena. “That would be a sight to see. He wouldn’t know what hit him.” She agreed but Elena still seemed closed off. Whatever was going on with her and Stefan really had Elena bothered, but Ellie didn’t know how to fix it. The rest of the ride was filled with the normal chatter, mainly with Jenna telling them about the dumbasses that were super stoned in the middle of campus and how one of them ended up rolling down a hill straight into a group of girls. The teenagers nearly choked on their own laughter at the image. “I’m sure those girls just loved that.” Elena replied.

Jenna scoffed at that. “Dear god, I have never heard a group of girls scream so loudly over spilled Starbucks. ‘Oh my god! My milk chai skinny latte with five million shots of espresso! I paid twenty dollars for this!’” Her high pitched sorority girl voice was spot on and a new round of laughter erupted from the teens.

“I bet they were cheerleaders.” Jeremy said as he gave his sisters a look.

“Hey! I take offense to that.” Elena told him as she tossed a scrunchie at him.

“Pft. You’re not a cheerleader anymore so you can’t get mad.” Jeremy retorted as he flicked the hair tie back.

“As the only current cheerleader in the car, I can say with good authority that that would be a very accurate representation of cheerleaders.” Ellie confirmed and Jeremy gave Elena a triumphant smirk.

“Told ya.”

Elena just glared at him but there wasn’t any real heat behind it. “You two just don’t like cheerleaders.”

“It’s a stoner thing.” Jenna said sagely. “Even if you stop being a stoner, the dislike of cheerleaders never quite fades away.” Jeremy hummed in agreement and let himself relax back into the seat and cranked up the music as he and Jenna sung along in an intentionally obnoxious tone.

“Blah turn off the stoner jams.” Ellie groaned as she leaned forward and fought with Jeremy for the control of the radio. Once they got home, Ellie made her way up to her room and flopped down on her bed to read through the books that Grams had given her. Grams being the Occult Studies teacher at the college definitely had its perks. She had given Ellie the book, which focused solely on herbs for her to study. Sheila had explained that there were several things that she had to teach that were incorrect about witches, but keeping people from knowing all the facts kept witches safe. The one that was quite accurate, however, were the herbs that were believed to have magical properties. This book in particular, was completely, one hundred percent, accurate and because of that Grams thought it was important for Ellie to have.

It surprised Ellie to find that she didn’t find the book boring, but maybe it was because magic made everything a bit more interesting. However, Grams had originally given her the book because Bonnie was going to be at her house, and Ellie was always impatient to learn more. Grams told her that the easy part with teaching Ellie was that she wasn’t insistent with constantly learning new spells, she was eager to learn the history and the uses of herbs as well. The book was currently explaining a useful little herb called acacia. Well, little might be the wrong word. It apparently could grow up anywhere between forty and seventy feet tall and three feet wide. The book explained that acacia was quite handy when used in protection spells and enchantments. As the book went more into detail, Ellie let herself get lost in it.

She stayed cooped up in her room for the majority of the day, devouring the book she’d been given. However, by nightfall she’d returned to the living room where Elena was moping about on the couch, pulling at the strings on the blanket she’d had on her lap. Jenna flopped down next to her and stated, “You’re wallowing.”

“So are you.” Elena replied as Ellie dropped down on the couch next to Jenna.

“My wallow is legitimate. I was dumped.” Jenna retorted.

“Yeah. Well, Logan’s a jerk.” Elena shot back.

“I agree. You never should have given Scum Fell a second chance.” Ellie added.

“Neither of you got a brushoff email saying ‘I’m leaving town. See ya’.” Jenna informed them.

“He dumped you via email? Seriously? The next time I see him I swear to god I’m gonna slap that stupid smirk right off his face.” Ellie swore and Jenna gave her a small grin.

“Wanna keep it down over there?” Jeremy called.

“Why? What are you doing?” Jenna asked as she sat up and turned to look at him.

“Homework.” He replied. Ellie and Elena shared a look from where they were slumped down before shooting up to turn and look at him.

“Since when do you do homework?” Elena questioned.

“I gotta finish this. I’m way behind and I have a quiz tomorrow, so…”

He went back to working and a beat of silence passed before Elena said, “What do you think? Alien?”

“Some sort of replicant.” Jenna told her.

“Or a shapeshifter.” Ellie suggested with a faux-whisper.

“He can hear you.” Jeremy sassed before giving them a sarcastic smile.

Ellie found herself grinning before she got out of her seat. “Alright my favorite alien, need any help?”

As she sat at the table, Jeremy looked over to her. “Actually… yeah. I’d really appreciate that.”

* * *

While Jenna was sitting at the table, greedily drinking her coffee, Ellie went to open the door as someone rang the bell. She opened it up to see Bonnie. “Hey! Come on in.” Ellie greeted as she hugged the other witch.

“Hey. Is Elena up?” Bonnie questioned.

“I haven’t heard her. She’s been moping.” Ellie replied as they went up the stairs and headed for Elena’s room. Ellie knocked on her sister’s door and pushed it open as she asked, “You up?”

“No.” Elena told them as she hid under the covers. The door shut behind them as they moved to pull the covers off. “No. No.” She whined as she tried to keep them.

“Why haven’t you called me back?” Bonnie asked.

“I’m sorry.” Elena said although it didn’t sound quite genuine.

“Are you gonna stay in there forever?” Bonnie sassed.

“Yep.”

Bonnie sighed before telling her, “Move over.” The girls both laid down, putting Elena in the middle of them as Bonnie said, “I’m officially worried. What’s going on?”

Elena just shook her head. “I’m tired of thinking, of talking, I…”

“Can I get a one line version?” Bonnie suggested. “So I can at least pretend to be helpful.”

“Stefan and I broke up.”

“I’m so sorry. Are you ok? Right. Stupid question.” Bonnie corrected herself as soon as Elena gave her a look. “I know I’ve been kind of M.I.A. when you needed me the most. I suck.”

“You wanna make it up to me? Get my mind off of it.” Elena replied.

Bonnie grinned at her, she obviously had something in mind. “Just remember you asked for it.” She hopped out of the bed and pushed Elena’s open window closed before she grabbed a pair of scissors and sliced Elena’s pillow open.

“Hey!” Elena yelped as the feathers spilled onto the bed.

“Be patient.” Bonnie said with a grin and Ellie quickly realized what the Bennett witch intended to do. “I need to swear you both to secrecy.”

“It’s kind of a bad week for that kind of stuff.” Elena admitted.

“No. swear cause I’m not supposed to be showing you this.” Bonnie insisted and Ellie was proud of her for that.

“Well, I swear.” Ellie said without hesitation. It’s not like she wasn’t already keeping it a secret.

“Ok. I swear.” Elena agreed.

“Ok. There’s no windows open, right?” Bonnie questioned.

“Right.” The twins replied.

“There’s no fan. No air conditioning.”

“None. What are you doing?” Elena questioned impatiently.

“Grams just showed me this.” Bonnie said. “You’re gonna love it.” When Elena nodded, Bonnie raised a hand over one of the feathers and it floated up obediently, rising up to their eye level. Elena’s jaw dropped open in shock as she watched the feather float up higher and then down again.

“Bonnie, what’s going on?” Elena asked as Bonnie grinned and rubbed her hands together before holding them up above the pile of feathers. Several feathers floated up this time before she put her hands back down. A moment later, all the feathers shot up and floated in the air. Elena pushed up until she was on her knees and stared at the feathers in delight.

“It’s true, Elena.” Bonnie admitted. “Everything my Grams told me. It’s impossible, but it’s true. I’m a witch.”

Elena was nodding along without taking her eyes off the feathers. “I believe you.” She agreed and they dissolved into laughter.

Bonnie gave them time to be amazed by the feathers before letting the feathers float back down. “It’s weird, huh. After all this time joking about being psychic, I really am a witch.” Ellie could see something was bothering the other witch, but she didn’t even have to ask before Bonnie continued. “You guys don’t think I’m a freak now, do you?”

“We would never think you were a freak, Bon.” Ellie told her. “Besides, if we did it wouldn’t be the witch thing that caused it.”

It was enough to get Bonnie to relax and push Ellie with a playful scoff. “No, of course not.” Elena assured her as well. “Uh, Bonnie, I just… I don’t understand, though. If your Grams asked you to keep all this a secret, why did you tell us?”

The witch didn’t even hesitate. “You’re my best friend. I can’t keep secrets from you.” Ellie didn’t miss Elena’s guilty look, but she didn’t know what Elena was keeping from them.

“That just reminded me…. There’s something I have to go and do.” Elena said as she moved to get ready. “Thank you for being honest with me, Bonnie.” Elena gave Bonnie a warm look and before either of the witches realized what she was doing, Elena was out of the room.

“See, if there’s a weird one out of all of us, it’s her.” Ellie said and Bonnie smiled back at her.

“So you really don’t think I’m like a freak of nature or anything?” Bonnie asked hesitantly.

Ellie pulled Bonnie’s hands into her own and gripped her tightly. “Bonnie, there is absolutely nothing about you that makes you a freak, especially not being a witch.” She had the strongest urge to tell that girl that she too was a witch, but she couldn’t tell Bonnie without telling Elena first. Elena was her other half, and she owed her that much. “Plus, you probably really could witch juju your way into winning the lottery.”

“I’ll split the winnings with you.” Bonnie said with a serious nod. “But, now that Elena has bailed, I should probably get home so my dad doesn’t freak out for me being gone so long.”

“Ok, I’ll see you later?” Ellie asked as they walked downstairs.

“Yeah. Bye, Ellie.”

“Bye, Bon.” It was hardly a minute later before her phone rang. “Hello Caroline.”

_ “Soooo….. We’re throwing a party.” _ Caroline said as a way of greeting.

“What? When? Where? Why?”

_ “We’re throwing a party and we’re doing it tonight at The Grill. Why wouldn’t we throw a party? I'm Caroline Forbes, the absolute queen of party throwing, duh.” _ Caroline replied.  _ “But I want the party to be absolutely massive. Like seriously invite everyone you know and don’t forget to tweet about it!” _

“I shall do so for the Queen commands it.” Ellie retorted sarcastically.

_ “Thank you my favorite Gilbert. I knew I could always count on you! Wear something pretty!” _

* * *

The party was in full swing by the time that Ellie arrived. Tables had been moved so that there was more room for people and everyone was swaying around and dancing. For such a short notice, Caroline had put together quite the impressive party. She grabbed a drink and quickly spotted Caroline and Damon talking. Before she could even go over, Damon had walked off and headed straight over to an unfamiliar blonde. Ellie grinned when the blonde seemed supremely unimpressed and walked off. The girl walked straight Ellie’s way and seemed to stop in confusion. “I’m sorry you just look exactly like this other girl…” She trailed off.

Ellie laughed at that. “That would be my twin sister, Elena. I’m Ellie.” She greeted. “And I also see you don’t like Damon Salvatore, so I’m open to being best friends with you.”

“I’m Lexi, and yes, if you don’t like Damon then I like you.” The blonde laughed.

“I’ve never seen you around, so how do you know Damon enough to hate him?” Ellie inquired as the two girls moved to a booth.

“Stefan has been my best friend for like a million years, which unfortunately means I’ve had to deal with Damon for just as long.” Lexi said with a long sigh. “But, being friends with Stefan is worth it.”

“He’s a really good guy. So I really can’t figure out why him and my sister broke up.” Ellie agreed.

“They broke up?” Lexi questioned. “I’m sure it’s just a fight and they’ll get back together soon enough. Stefan is too much of a catch for her to let him go.”

“Did you two ever…”

“Oh god, no. He’s like a brother to me.”

“So did you know Katherine? Damon keeps bringing her up around Elena and I think he’s doing that to mess with their relationship.” Ellie inquired.

Lexi gave her a look before replying, “No, I wasn’t with Stefan then. I was living somewhere else. I’d have kicked that bitch’s ass had I ever met her.” Lexi replied as her fingers flexed around her cup.

“Isn’t it bad to speak ill of the dead?”

“Not when the dead was a manipulative lying little slut.” Lexi said harshly before she seemed to remember herself. “Sorry. Sorry. It’s just that Katherine was one of the worst people Stefan could have ever fallen for and as much as I don’t like Damon, he didn’t deserve to be played like that either.”

“Played?”

“Stefan and Damon both loved her, but she used them like toys and switched when she got bored.” Lexi explained. “They were both foolish to fall for her. Hopefully Elena treats Stefan better, he deserves it.”

“Elena really cares about him. Whatever’s going on is eating at her. She’s constantly moping about, but she won’t talk to me about it either.” Ellie informed her. “So, what brings you to town exactly?”

“Of course no one knows.” Lexi said more to herself than to Ellie. “It’s Stefan’s birthday and it’s the only day of the year I am guaranteed to have him. He can brood any other day of the year, but birthdays are my days.” 

Ellie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? Why wouldn’t he want anyone to know?”

“Because he likes to be boring but I refuse.” Lexi replied with a shrug. “So I’m here to give him the best birthday.”

“You seem like a really good friend.” Ellie informed her. The blonde laughed at that but Ellie’s attention was drawn away to her blonde best friend walking towards Bonnie with purpose. “Um, Lexi, excuse me for just a second. I’ll be right back. But if this takes longer than expected, it was really great meeting you Lexi.” She slid from her seat and rushed through the crowd to get to them.

The blonde winked conspiratorially at her. “It’s nice meeting you too.”

“Bonnie!” Caroline called over the music and pulled the girl up from where she was sitting with a couple of the girls from their science class. “Hey, I’ve been looking for you. I’m totally sorry to do this. I know it’s so Indian giver, and I know we’re not even supposed to say that anymore, but I need my crystal back.”

“Why? You said you hated it.” Bonnie questioned.

Caroline seemed to fumble for what to say before she replied, “Then I saw it on you, and I realized how great it is. And I’ve got, like, three outfits I can coordinate it with, so...”

“I can’t give it back to you.” Bonnie denied.

Obviously, Caroline had not been prepared for that response. “Ok… uh, well, I didn’t want to have to tell you this, but I’m your friend. When you wear it, it makes you look fat. There I said it, but it’s because I’m your friend, so…”

“I’m sorry, Caroline, I can’t.” Bonnie refused as she brought a hand up to the crystal.

“Care what kind of excuse is saying a necklace makes her look fat? That doesn’t even make sense.” Ellie was completely confused as to why Caroline wanted it so badly and as to why Bonnie refused to return it.

“Well what do you mean that you can’t, Bonnie? It’s mine.” Caroline was getting angry and Ellie had no idea what exactly was happening.

“I thought you said it was Damon’s.”

“Well, it is.”

“So he’s the one who really wants it back?” Bonnie suggested.

“No.” Caroline tried to deny but it wasn’t working. “Maybe… just-” She went to pull it off of Bonnie’s neck but pulled her hand back after there was a burning sound. “Ow! Are you wearing polyester?”

Bonnie looked entirely offended. “You were really gonna pull it from my neck? What the hell is wrong with you?”

Caroline just sighed in defeat as Bonnie walked off and a second later, Ellie turned to follow the witch. “Bonnie!” She called. When she caught up with her friend she pulled them close to a corner to talk. “What the hell was that about? Why won’t you give it back to her?”

“My ancestor, Emily, she was like a really powerful witch and this was her talisman and Grams told me to not give it back to anyone. Besides, I think it’s Damon that wants it. For whatever reason he tried to rip it from my neck at the Halloween thing at school and it burned him as well. It protects me, but I don’t know how. I don’t have any clue why Damon wants this ugly thing but I can’t let him have it.” Bonnie explained.

“What? That… god I can’t stand him. Ok, well, maybe ease up a little on Caroline. Please?” Ellie pleaded.

Bonnie nodded, looking apologetic. “I was a little harsh wasn’t I?”

“Just a bit.” After that they fell back into the party and enjoyed themselves. A while later, it was to Ellie’s great surprise to see her sister walk in. Elena quickly spotted Stefan and Lexi playing pool and even to Ellie it was surprising and refreshing to see Stefan laughing and smiling and clearly having a good time. “That’s it, you’re officially a stalker.” Ellie said as she stood next to her twin watching the duo.

“I’m not stalking, just observing.” Elena’s excuse was weak and she knew it.

Ellie’s least favorite Salvatore made his way to them. “Stefan smiles.” He said sarcastically. “Alert the media.”

“You haven’t given him a whole lot of reasons to be happy lately.” Elena sassed back.

“Oh, you’re right. Poor Stefan.” He mocked. “Persecuted throughout eternity by his depraved brother.” What the hell did he mean by that? “Does it get tiring being so righteous?”

Elena scoffed at him with distaste. “It flares up in the presence of psychopaths.”

“Ouch, well consider this psychopath’s feelings hurt.”

“Oh my god I literally can not stand to be within a ten foot radius of this asshole for more than five seconds I have  _ got  _ to go.” Ellie said as she walked off. This time, it was Bonnie walking towards Caroline with purpose and Ellie followed in case they needed a moderator.

“Caroline-”

“Don’t talk to me.” Caroline said, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

“Don’t do that, let me explain.” Bonnie pleaded.

“Well, what is there to explain, Bonnie? Ok, you got what you wanted, yeah, and something that doesn’t even belong to you, by the way. And I get called a shallow, useless waste of space.” 

Anger spread through Ellie’s veins like a wildfire as she straightened up and looked at Caroline. “Who the hell said that to you, Caroline?” Ellie asked as she saw the tears in her blonde friend’s eyes.

“Well, who do you think?”

“You know that’s not true.” Bonnie insisted. “Don’t let him treat you like that.”

“Yeah, as opposed to how one of my supposed best friends treats me.” Caroline shot back before walking off. She gave a passing glance to Bonnie before following after Caroline.

“Care! Caroline, wait.” Ellie pleaded as she pulled Caroline to a stop. When she saw the tears in her eyes, she could have sworn she felt her heart shatter. “Oh, Caroline.” She pulled her into a hug and felt the other girl practically collapse in her arms. “Come on, let’s go find somewhere to talk.” They ended up sitting on the floor of the supply room as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“What did I do to deserve this, Ellie? I was so so good to him and he just… treats me like crap. Why did I throw this stupid party for him? I just- I want someone to love me and treat me so good and even Bonnie is mean to me. It’s always been her and Elena. We always got left out.” Caroline whined into Ellie’s shoulder as she let her head rest.

“Bonnie’s just going through some stuff and Damon, well he’s absolutely a piece of shit and you don’t deserve to be treated like that. So we shouldn’t let him ruin tonight for you.” Ellie suggested and the blonde bolted upright.

“You’re right.” Caroline said with a firm nod. “I shouldn’t.” Before Ellie could process what was happening, Caroline had disappeared from the room. She just sighed, Caroline on high emotions near alcohol was a very bad thing waiting to happen. Somehow, her friend managed to evade her for quite some time, until Ellie finally managed to spot her stumbling to Matt.

“Whoa, hey.” Matt said as Caroline basically fell into him.

“I slim… I’m slipped. I slipped.” Caroline said, her eyes wide as she looked at him and the other boy at the table.

“Hammered, huh?” Matt questioned as she laughed lightly.

“Well… a very nice but not handsome bartender was very kind to me tonight. Unlike the rest of the global humanverse.” Caroline said drunkenly. “Are those curly fries?”

“Coffee for the drunk girl.” Matt told his friend and once the boy slipped out of the booth, Ellie took his place. “She’s wasted.”

“I’m not surprised.” Ellie admitted.

“Bad night, huh?”

“Baddest. Am I shallow?” Caroline asked suddenly.

“Is that a trick question?” Matt replied.

“I don’t mean to be.” She said sadly. “I… I wanna be deep. I wanna be like... the abyss deep.”

Matt sighed and told her, “No offense, Care, but deep’s really not your scene.”

“That’s true.” Caroline was honestly just pitiful. “I’m shallow. I am worse than shallow. I’m a kiddie pool.”

“You’re not a kiddie pool.” Matt insisted as Caroline started to hyperventilate, on the verge of breaking down in tears again. “You’re  _ not _ a kiddie pool.”

“He’s right, Care. I promise.” Ellie swore.

“Can I just go home?”

“Yeah.” Matt agreed.

“Ok.” Caroline said in relief.

“I’ll take you home. Come on.” Matt said. The three moved out of the booth and the two sober teens were quick to shoot out their hands to catch Caroline when she stumbled. “Hey, you’re ok. She’s all right. Hold still. Hold still. Alright.” Matt ducked his head under her arm and then lifted her up in his arms without a struggle.

“Here, I’ll help you get her to your truck.” Ellie told him as she led the way through the crowd before pushing open the door for Matt to get through easily. When they got outside, there were several police cars around, unfortunately for Caroline, that included her mother’s. 

Sheriff Forbes saw them almost immediately and rushed over to them. “What happened? Is she ok?” She asked worriedly.

“Like you care.” Caroline retorted but her eyes were closing sleepily.

“She’s drunk?”

“As a skunk.”

“Are they serving you in there?” Sheriff Forbes had taken on a slightly dangerous tone. There was a reason she made a good sheriff.

“Uh, I’ll take her home.” Matt said instead of answering the question. “It’s on my way back. I haven’t been drinking.”

“I would appreciate that Matt, thank you. You and I will discuss this later.” Sheriff Forbes warned her daughter.

“Mmm, can’t wait.” Caroline said and once Sheriff Forbes signalled that they could go they quickly went to Matt’s truck. “She doesn’t care.” Caroline slurred. “She’s too busy chef… cher... sheriffing to care.”

Once Matt sat her down in the truck, Ellie helped adjust her and her dress before buckling her. “Yes she does, Care. She’s your mom, she loves you.” Ellie reminded her.

“She doesn’t act like it. She’s always just disappointed in me.”

“You’re drunk, Care. It’s making your head all fuzzy, just go home and get some sleep.” Ellie told her as she rummaged through the blonde’s purse to pull out a small set of keys. Finding the right one she handed it to Matt. “That’s her house key. In her kitchen the aspirin is in the cabinet over the toaster and the cups are in the one on the right of that. Make sure to set some out for her in the morning please.”

“Of course.” Matt said.

Ellie pressed a kiss to Caroline’s hairline. “Get home safe, Care. I love you.”

“Love you too, Ellie.” She said softly as she shifted under the jacket that Ellie had placed over her. Ellie nodded to the jock before shutting the door and heading back inside The Grill. However, she could have sworn she heard gunshots, and that put her on edge.

A few moments later, Sheriff Forbes came back into The Grill and announced, “All right, that party’s over. Clear out.” As the music was cut she walked over to the bartender. “You’re under arrest for illegally serving minors.” She told him as she went through all the regular things that happened during an arrest. 

After he was handcuffed, she started leading him out the door. “Lady, I checked everyone’s ID.” He told her.

“Yeah, apparently you didn’t.” She informed him as she handed him off to a deputy. The night had ended abruptly, and Ellie felt that the events that had taken place left an icky feeling on her skin. Elena and Stefan were nowhere to be found, neither was Bonnie. Matt and Caroline had left and the pretty Lexi had disappeared as well. All she wanted was for things to get better, but she was beginning to get a feeling that that wasn’t going to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed and I hope you're all doing well. Please leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this chapter! I love hearing feedback from you guys!!
> 
> Posted 3/25/20


	9. History Repeating

**Chapter 9: History Repeating**

_ November 30, 2009  _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ Everything has been… weird. Elena is acting weird, still, and Jeremy is acting weirdly normal. Not that I’m complaining about that. Jeremy being completely clean from drugs and alcohol has been the best news I’ve gotten lately, but Elena’s keeping something from me. Bonnie’s been confiding in me a lot about what she’s doing with Grams, but still I haven’t told her about me. I’m not sure why I’m really putting it off so much but… a problem for a later date. I don’t think Bonnie’s been sleeping well. She seems exhausted like all the time. I need to talk to her about it. _

Ellie walked between Elena and Caroline as they walked through the parking lot. “Have you even talked to Bonnie?” Elena asked the blonde.

“No. I’m mad at her. She needs to make the first move.” Caroline informed them.

“Be the bigger person.” Elena suggested.

“Impossible in her presence.” Caroline scoffed.

“Why are you so pissed at her, anyway?” Elena questioned.

“She’s a thief. That’s why.” Caroline told her.

“Technically, you did give it to her and said you wanted to get rid of it. So she didn’t really steal it.” Ellie reminded her.

“Yeah I gave her my necklace and she refuses to give it back.” Caroline added.

“But giving something to someone is different than letting them borrow it. You told her you wanted it gone, which implied that you didn’t want it back. Just because you changed your mind, or because Shithead Salvatore decided he wanted it doesn’t change that fact that you gave it to her to keep.” Ellie explained.

“But it’s a matter of principle. If I said I wanted it back she should have just given it back. Who’s side are you on anyways?” Caroline questioned.

“No sides, just my opinion. She shouldn’t have been rude to you about it, but you shouldn’t have tried to rip it from her neck either, Care.” Ellie admitted.

“I… fine. Whatever.” Caroline huffed.

“All right. Well, I tried.” Elena said as she let the subject drop. “I’m officially out of it.”

“Good. Your turn.” Caroline told the younger twin. “Where’s Stefan? Have you talked to him?”

“He’s avoiding me.” Elena confessed.

“Why?”

“It’s complicated.” Elena sighed.

“Your whole relationship seems kinda complicated honestly.” Ellie said. “But did you meet his friend Lexi? We hung out at The Grill while she was waiting for Stefan to get there. She was really cool. Haven’t seen her since though.” Elena tensed up at the mention of the other girl. “What? Did you not like her?”

“No, no, I liked her, she just had to leave really quickly after the party. I’m not sure when she’ll be back.” Elena said.

“Oh she said that Stefan’s birthdays are her days, so we’ll probably see her again next year.” Ellie replied as the school bell rang.

“Yeah maybe.” Elena said although she seemed doubtful. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.” The girls chimed as Elena walked off.

Matt was walking past and paused slightly and said, “Hey.” to Caroline.

“Hey.” She replied and Ellie felt her skin crawl at the awkwardness. 

When Matt kept on walking, Caroline let out a disappointed huff. “That was literally the most awkward thing I have ever seen you do.” Ellie commented.

“Shut up.”

“What happened with you two? You’ve been like… funky ever since he took you home from The Grill.” Ellie inquired.

“Oh, you know, just normal ole pathetically needy Caroline.” The blonde told her. “I was super wasted and I basically begged him to stay with me because I didn’t want to be alone and we fell asleep together and it’s been weird ever since.”

“Caroline Forbes! Do you have a crush on Matt?” Ellie nearly screeched as Caroline hushed her frantically.

“Would you shut the  _ hell _ up?” Caroline hissed. “Oh my god I don’t know Ellie but I don’t need you announcing it to the whole world.”

Ellie was positively beaming. “Ok. Ok. I’m sorry. It’s just, Care, Matt’s one of the best guys I know. Someone that’s good like him is exactly who you should be with.” Ellie told her. Caroline’s glare softened. “Really, I think a guy like him would be really good for you.”

“Yeah. Me too. The polar opposite of Damon is precisely what I need.” Caroline said with a firm nod. “I gotta go.”

“Bye, Future Mrs. Donovan.” Ellie teased and just smiled as Caroline shot her a vicious glare. The classes flew by and Ellie was somewhat dreading going to history. They still hadn’t replaced Tanner which meant that while it was great to not really having to learn anything, some of the substitutes were really quite awful. If they had Mrs. Lewis as a substitute one more time Ellie swore she was going to bash her head against the wall. “You ready for this?” Ellie asked softly when she noticed Elena’s hesitancy.

“Could be worse.” Elena said as they took their seats.

Ellie noticed Bonnie rushing into the room as the bell rang and looking quite flustered before an unfamiliar man walked in after her and called, “Good morning, everyone.” At least he wasn’t Mrs. Lewis. Both Elena and Ellie eyed Bonnie as the witch kept her head down and took her seat. “Alrighty.” He said as he picked up a piece of chalk and started to write. Ellie could see Elena mouthing to Bonnie, asking her if she was ok, but the other girl just shrugged. “Alaric Saltzman. It’s a mouthful. I know.” He said with a bright grin. “Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Saltzman is of German origins. My family emigrated here in 1755 to Texas. I, however, was born and raised in Boston. Now, the name Alaric belongs to a very dead great-grandfather I will never be able to thank enough. You’ll probably want to pronounce it ‘Ala-ric’, but it’s ‘A-lar-ic’, ok? So you can call me Ric. I’m your new history teacher.” 

The man was young and definitely friendlier than Tanner. Something about him gave Ellie a good feeling. He was going to end up being one of her favorite teachers; she just knew it. The lesson went smoothly and she actually ended up with magnificent notes, but that didn’t stop her from looking over to Bonnie every other minute to watch her in concern. Once their classes had ended, Ellie found herself sitting at a picnic table with Elena and Bonnie as the other witch described the dreams that had been haunting her. Bonnie had explained that in the dream, Emily was appearing to her in school and following her around. “And then I ended up at the remains of Old Fell’s Church before I woke up back in the woods.” Bonnie told them.

“And you always see your ancestor Emily?” Elena questioned.

Bonnie nodded before asking them, “Do you guys believe in ghosts?”

“Two weeks ago, I’d say no, but now…” Elena trailed off.

“Bon, if we can believe you’re a witch, know you’re a witch, then yeah, ghosts don’t surprise me.” Ellie replied with a shrug.

“I think I’m being haunted.” Bonnie confessed.

“I don’t get it. Why Emily?” Elena inquired.

“Grams said she was a powerful witch back in the Civil War days and that this medallion was hers, a witch’s talisman.” Bonnie told them.

“And it all started when you got the necklace?” Elena asked.

“I think she’s using it to communicate with me.” Bonnie confirmed.

Ellie thought about it for a second, before saying, “It makes sense. Anything ghost related you ever see on like tv and in books and stuff always talks about using personal items to communicate with the deceased as well as saying that using a relative makes it easier. If Emily’s haunting you, there’s probably a reason.” 

Elena nodded along before asking, “Ok, what does Grams say about it?”

“I can’t call her. She’s gonna tell me to embrace it. I don’t want to embrace it. I want it to stop.” Bonnie said helplessly.

“Listen, we will figure it out ok? We can ride with you, there’s just something I need to do first.” Elena promised as she moved to get up and leave. “I’ll be back really soon ok?”

“Wait, why don’t we just meet at your car Bonnie, there’s just something I need to do as well.” Ellie said as she glanced down at the text from Jeremy. Bonnie and Elena both nodded before the twins stood and left the girl alone at the table. She made her way through the halls and found that for the first time she wasn’t dreading entering the history classroom. She knocked on the door lightly and smiled at the man sitting at the desk. “Hi Mr. Saltzman.” He looked up from eating his sandwich and returned her smile. “I’m uh, I’m Ellie Gilbert.”

He motioned for her to come in as he said, “I’m assuming in relation to Jeremy Gilbert?”

“Yes. He’s my younger brother.” She confirmed.

“I’m also assuming that he might be part of the reason that you’re here?” He suggested.

“Also yes. He texted me and told me that you were giving him a clean slate, and a chance to save his grade. We’ve been through some stuff that’s made it hard for him, so someone finally cutting him a break like this is really what he needed.” Ellie said gratefully. “Tanner, he really hated us, I don’t know why. He hardly cut us any slack and Jeremy really took the brunt of that hate.”

“I’m not surprised with that opus that he had for Jeremy. If you don’t mind me asking, what happened? I see your grades from last year as well and while yours and your sister Elena’s stayed pretty consistent, Jeremy just kind of took a nosedive.” Mr. Saltzman asked softly.

Ellie propped against the desk near his and nodded. “Our parents died in a car crash back in May. Elena and I were in the car with them. Elena and I got out somehow, our parents weren’t so lucky. Really Elena was the luckiest of us. She wasn’t hurt, but I was in the hospital for a couple days. Jeremy didn’t handle it well. He kind of got into drugs and alcohol for a while. Tanner was really harsh on us the moment we started back this year, as if the summer was enough time for us to be back in perfect form. So Jeremy’s grades just… went down and stayed down.”

Mr. Saltzman looked sympathetic. “He must have had a severe misunderstanding of what it’s like to lose someone suddenly. So, you and your siblings, completely blank slate with me. “ He told her before adding a moment later, “If you ever have something going on and you need someone to talk to, I know I’m your teacher, but I’m here if you need me.”

She grinned brightly at him. “Thank you very much. I appreciate it. I’ve got to get back to my sister, but I just really wanted to say thank you for giving Jeremy a chance.”

“See you tomorrow, Miss Gilbert.” He replied and she practically skipped out of the classroom.

“You’re in a good mood.” Elena commented when she spotted her sister.

“And you’re not.” Ellie replied.

“Stefan drama. Why are you in a good mood?” Elena said, clearly trying to change the conversation and Ellie let her.

“Mr. Saltzman is giving Jeremy a chance to save his grade, a clean slate. I went to say thanks.” Ellie informed her happily.

Elena’s jaw practically dropped in shock. “What? Really? That’s amazing! Thank you, I needed something good like that.” Their happiness faded when they got in the car and saw how visibly shook Bonnie was. “Bonnie, what’s wrong?”

“Bonnie?” Ellie repeated softly.

“Let’s just get out of here first.” Bonnie told them and the moment the girls had their seatbelts on, she was pulling out of the parking lot as quickly as she could. “Damon was here.” She admitted and the twins straightened up. “He wanted the necklace. He’s bad news, Elena. He really scared me.”

“You need to stay as far away from Damon as possible.” Elena insisted.

“I’m  _ trying _ . He just keeps showing up.” Bonnie told her.

“I don’t want you to be alone.” Elena insisted. “You’re sleeping at our place tonight.”

“Seconded. You’re coming over. You have no choice.” Ellie confirmed. “We can make a whole night out of it.” She watched as Bonnie fiddled with the necklace before they were suddenly off the road. “Whoa, um Bonnie?”

Bonnie threw the car in park before pulling out the keys as Elena called, “Where are you going?” They both watched as Bonnie walked into the grass and jumped up before throwing the necklace as far as she could. She turned on her heel and strode back to the car, dropping down into her seat with a huff. “Are you ok?”

“Now I am.” Bonnie told her. “All my problems were because of that thing. Can’t believe I didn’t do that sooner.”

“What’s your Grams gonna say?” Elena asked skeptically.

“Grams isn’t the one being haunted by a hundred fifty year old ghost, is she?” Bonnie retorted.

“Ok then.” Elena said with a nod. The ride fell silent as Bonnie drove them to her house to get her things for a sleepover. With the promise of being quick, the twins remained in the car as Bonnie rushed into her house to gather her things.

“Was it just me or did she seem a little…”

“Not just you.” Elena told her. After a moment, Ellie could see an idea forming in the gleam of her sister’s eyes. “Hey, why don’t you call Caroline to come over? We can do manicures and pedicures.”

Ellie gave her sister a knowing look. “What happened to ‘I’m officially out of it’?” She questioned.

“Shut up. I just want them to fix it.” Elena told her. “Call Caroline, before Bonnie gets back.”

“Fine pushy pushy, but when awkward tension ensues, you have no one but yourself to blame.” Ellie informed her before dialing the number of her favorite blonde. Caroline picked up by the second ring. “Oh Caroline, my beautiful blonde.” She sang into the phone.

_ “Hello to you too Miss Good Mood. What’s up?” _ Caroline replied.

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my place and hang out with me and Elena. We’re doing manicures and pedicures.” Ellie told her.

_ “Ohhh, you really know how to bait a girl don’t you?” _ Caroline asked her with a laugh.  _ “Ok, ok. I’ll come. I just have some stuff to do first so I’ll probably get there not long after dark. Oh I can bring food!” _

“That sounds like a good idea.” Ellie agreed as she let herself relax into the seat of the car. “I’m assuming you mean from The Grill.”

_ “Mmhmm, they really do have some amazing chicken.” _

“That they do. Just make sure you get four meals.” Ellie informed her.

_ “Four? For who?” _

“Bonnie’s gonna be there.” Ellie admitted and the moment she heard Caroline begin to protest she cut her off. “You already said you were gonna come over and you can’t back out now. This is a chance for you and Bonnie to make up. Besides little miss ‘I’m officially out of it’ is the one who cooked up this plan. So, if it goes to shit, I give you full permission to blame her.”

With Elena’s offended shout, Caroline couldn’t help but laugh.  _ “Ok, ok, ok, I’ll come but I reserve the right to ditch at any time.” _

“Fair enough. Make sure to bring extra sauce. See you soon.” Ellie said and hung up as Bonnie made her way out of her house, bags in hand. “Make your escape from Daddy Dearest?” She asked as Bonnie put her bags in next to Ellie.

The other witch snorted as she slipped into the driver’s seat. “He’s not home, thank god. I made it out unscathed.” Bonnie told them as she pulled out of the drive and onto the road. “But I grabbed my kit for us to use.” 

“Perfect. Elena always loses parts of my kit.” Ellie told her.

“I do not!”

“Then why is it that I’ve had at least three sets of clippers disappear along with at least four nail files? I always put them back in the kit as soon as I’m done with them. And I highly doubt Jeremy’s stealing them and Jenna has her own.” Ellie reminded her. At her guilty expression the teen witches just laughed.

* * *

True to her word, Caroline rang the doorbell just a touch after dark and bearing food from The Grill. “I’m here.” She grinned as Ellie opened up the door for her. “Don’t tell Bonnie and Elena, but I got you a brownie too.” She whispered as she stepped through the door.

“God you’re the best.” Ellie told her as she shut the door behind the blonde.

“I know.” Caroline confirmed as they made their way to the kitchen so she could set the bag down on the counter. “Hey.” She greeted Elena with a warm smile as the Gilbert pulled out plates and napkins.

“Hey, thanks for bringing food. Jenna forgot to go to the store and so we probably don’t have anything good.” Elena replied.

“Elena’s glad you brought food because she’s a horrific cook.” Ellie faux-whispered to the blonde.

“Oh shut up.” Elena scoffed but grinned at her sister. 

They fell into an awkward silence as Bonnie entered the room. Caroline bit her lip and continued to unpack the food but Elena gave her a meaningful stare as she cocked up her eyebrows. When it was clear that Elena wasn’t going to give in Caroline turned to Bonnie and said, “I’m sorry. There, I said it. If you want the ugly ass necklace, keep it. It’s yours.”

Ellie gave a small proud smile to her blonde friend. Bonnie looked conflicted before asking, “Will you hate me if I tell you that I threw it away?”

Caroline’s demeanor changed instantly. “You threw it away?” She asked in disbelief.

“I know it sounds crazy but the necklace was giving me nightmares.” Bonnie admitted. “I had to get rid of it.”

“You could have just given it back to me.” Caroline snipped.

“Why? So you could give it back to Damon?” Elena questioned sarcastically.

Caroline just sighed and said, “Screw Damon. Are we doing manicures or what? Who has their kit?”

“Mine’s in my bag.” Bonnie told her and Caroline smiled as she moved to get the kit.

“So, Elena…” Caroline called. “How long do you think this fight with Stefan’s gonna last? Is it like a permanent thing?”

“I don’t know Caroline.” Elena told her as she gave Bonnie a look.

Ellie could just barely hear Caroline scoff. “Why are you such a little liar, Bonnie?”

The accusation caught all three of the other girls off guard. “What?”

“Caroline!” Elena scolded but the girls fell silent as Caroline accusingly held up the necklace they had watched Bonnie throw into the field.

“I’m not lying to you, Caroline.” Bonnie snapped after Caroline tossed the necklace on the counter. “I swear.”

“It’s true. I watched her throw it into a field.” Elena confirmed.

“Ellie?” Caroline questioned.

“They’re being honest, Care. I watched her throw it as far as she could.” Ellie assured her.

“Well, then explain it.” Caroline told them.

“Emily.” Bonnie said fearfully.

“Who’s Emily?” Caroline asked softly.

“The ghost.”

“Oh, the ghost has a name now.” Caroline sassed.

“Caroline, please.” Elena said as she held a hand up to shush the girl.

“I wonder why she won’t leave me alone.” Bonnie said.

“Ok, what is going on?” Caroline jumped in, obviously displeased with being left out. “Why am I not a part of this conversation? You guys do this to me all the time.”

“That’s not true.” Elena denied.

“Yes, it is.” Bonnie scoffed. “I can’t talk to you. You don’t listen.”

“That’s not true.” Caroline said defensively.

“I’m a witch.” Bonnie confessed.

Caroline’s retort didn’t miss a beat. “And don’t we all know it?”

“See? That’s what I’m talking about. I’m trying to tell you something. You don’t even hear it.” Bonnie turned and walked off in frustration.

“I listen.” Caroline insisted. “When do I not listen?”

“You know what you should do, Care.” Ellie told her and the blonde groaned a little but nodded and headed for the living room as the twins crept behind her. They could see Bonnie sitting on the couch and watched as Caroline went to sit beside her.

“Bonnie.” Caroline said as she walked in. “Look, it’s just not me, ok? I don’t believe in the… whoo whoo.” Bonnie didn’t seem impressed. “But, if you do, then ok. I’m in. That's all it takes for me to jump onboard, because I consider you to be my best friend. And I’m saying this knowing that Ellie and Elena are in the kitchen listening to my every word.” The twins grinned at each other because of that. “Look, I didn’t know how real this was for you, but I’m listening now.” There was a moment of silence and something muttered before Caroline called, “Ellie, Elena, you guys can come in now. We’re done.” Elena and Ellie slid into the room with pleased smiles. “Well, there is just way too much drama in this room. So what do you guys wanna do?” Elena hardly had time to shrug before Caroline bolted up with a gasp. “I have an idea. Why don’t we have a seance?” Caroline suggested.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Bonnie said skeptically. Privately, Ellie agreed. They had no idea if Emily was a ghost with malicious intent or not and if there were two witches performing the seance, especially with one being blood related, there was no way that it wouldn’t work.

“Come  _ on _ . Let’s summon some spirits. This Emily chick has some serious explaining to do.” Caroline said. “Let’s do this. I wanna see what this Emily chick has to say for herself.” It seemed that Caroline’s decision was final and the four girls found themselves seated in a slightly squared looking circle in Elena’s dark room, the only light coming from the candles they sat around.

The girls held the hands of the ones that sat next to them and Bonnie asked, “What are we doing?”

“I don’t know.” Elena replied, her tone making it clear that she was unimpressed.

“Shh.” Caroline hushed. “Be quiet and concentrate.” She informed them. “Ok, close your eyes. Ok, now take a deep breath. Bonnie, call to her.” For all of her denial when it came to believing in this stuff, Caroline really did have an idea of what to do.

“Emily… you there?” Bonnie’s tone was blunt.

“Really? ‘Emily, you there?’ That’s all you got?” Caroline asked sarcastically as the girls opened their eyes. “Come on.”

“ _ Fine _ . Jeez.” Bonnie replied as the girls closed their eyes again. Ellie could hear the difference in how Bonnie spoke this time. “Emily… I call on you. I know you have a message. I’m here to listen.” Ellie could almost feel the magic as it gathered.

The flames shot high and the girls yanked their hands away in fear. “Did that just-”

“Yeah, that just happened.” Ellie confirmed her sister’s fear as Caroline shivered fearfully.

“It’s just the air conditioning.” Bonnie insisted. But Ellie knew that if she’d even felt a touch of what Ellie had felt, the other witch knew that it wasn’t just air conditioning.

The candles shot up in defiance, as if Emily was confirming that, no, it wasn’t the air conditioning and she was there. “Ask her to show you a sign. Ask her.” Caroline insisted. Bonnie shook her head in refusal, so Caroline did it herself. “Emily, if you’re among us, show us another sign.”

Elena was shaking in fear, but nothing happened. “See? It’s not working.” Bonnie told her. A moment passed and then Elena’s windows, that had been closed and locked, flew open. The girls scrambled away from the candles as Bonnie stood and yanked the necklace from her neck. “No, I can’t. I’m done.” The necklace was tossed next to the candles that went out suddenly. “Get the light.  _ Please  _ get the light.” Bonnie begged.

“Hold on. Hold on. I got it.” Elena said and Ellie could just barely see the figure of her sister standing and flipping on the light.

Bonnie and Ellie both made a realization at the same time and the former told them in a shaking voice, “You guys, the necklace, it’s gone.” But something told Ellie that Emily was not. There was an odd feeling creeping down her spine, like someone was reaching out to her but they couldn’t quite touch. 

“Ok, fun’s over, Caroline.” Elena accused. “You made a point, and I get it. Now give it back.”

“What?” Caroline asked in disbelief. “Well, I didn’t take it.”

Ellie spotted movement from behind Caroline and felt her stomach lurch. “Elena did you…”

As Elena nodded, Caroline spun around asking, “What? What happened?”

“I don’t know, nothing.” Elena insisted.

“That wasn’t nothing. Jeremy, are you home?” Ellie called as she stood just inside Elena’s bedroom door.

“Um… guys?” Bonnie called softly and Ellie walked back into the room to see Bonnie slowly walking into the bathroom, almost as if she was in a trance. Ellie watched as Bonnie picked up what could only be the necklace, before the door slammed shut and Bonnie started to scream. “Oh my god!”

“Bonnie?” Elena called as the three of them rushed to the door.

“You guys open the door!” Bonnie screamed.

“Bonnie! What’s going on?” Caroline called.

As Bonnie’s screams continued, the voices of the three girls melded into one, all screaming Bonnie’s name. Caroline was screaming trying to find out what was happening and Elena was screaming for Bonnie to try the other door as Ellie told them, “I’ll check the hallway.” Bonnie just kept screaming in terror as Ellie rushed to the hallway door. She could hear Caroline begging for Bonnie to unlock the door. “Bonnie!” Ellie screamed and she could feel that sensation on her spine again, stronger than before. The electricity went wild, lights flashing and electricity sizzling and Bonnie’s panicked screams became horrified shrieks of desperation. She could hear Bonnie begging for someone to get her out and Ellie screamed in desperation, “Emily, stop it! Emily, please stop! Let her go! Emily stop!”

All at once, everything went silent and as the tell-tale sound of the bathroom door opening rang out, Ellie rushed back into the room. From where she stood behind Elena and Caroline, she could see Bonnie standing perfectly still, hands covering her face and shaking. “What happened? Are you ok?” The creepy crawly sensation was stronger than ever as Bonnie’s shaking stopped.

“I’m fine.” Bonnie told them, but something felt wrong. The way she sounded was wrong. There was no way she was just  _ fine _ after screaming like she was getting murdered.

“Unbelievable. You were totally faking it.” Caroline accused.

“Caroline, come  _ on _ .” Elena tried.

“ _ No _ , you scared the hell out of me.” Caroline shouted before walking off.

But all Ellie could see was the way Bonnie was holding herself, an unfamiliar poise for the teenage girl, holding her arms delicately in front of her. “Bonnie?” Ellie asked hesitantly.

“I’m fine.” Bonnie insisted. “Everything’s fine.” But Bonnie had the amulet clasped securely around her neck. Bonnie would have never put that back on. Elena and Ellie both watched their friend in concern as she walked past.

“I can’t believe I fell for it.” Caroline scoffed as Bonnie strode past them, hands clasped in front of her.

“I must go.” Bonnie said and the longer she spoke, the less she seemed alright.

“She’s leaving. I’m leaving.” Caroline told the Gilberts.

“You guys can’t leave.” Elena insisted.

“Oh, I can. I’ve had enough freaky fake witch stuff for one night.” Caroline was ranting to Elena as Ellie kept a close eye on Bonnie.

“Thank you for having me.” Bonnie said politely. “I’ll take it from here.”

“Where are you going?” Ellie asked.

“Back to where it all began.” She replied as she started to rush down the stairs.

Ellie rushed down after her. “Bonnie! Bonnie!” The other witch gave no response. “Oh god. Emily!”

The witch spun on her heel. “I won’t let him have it. It must be destroyed.” She insisted.

She could hear Elena yell at Bonnie or Emily or whoever the hell it was to wait, but Ellie took off running after the other witch. She just barely made it out of the door before it slammed shut. She could hear Elena screaming on the other side, but she kept running after Emily. “Emily wait!” 

The ghost witch didn’t stop, but she did slow enough for Ellie to catch up. “I can not stop until this amulet is destroyed.” She said.

“Why? What the hell is happening? Why are you doing this to Bonnie?” Ellie was desperate for answers.

“I mean Bonnie no harm. She is my descendant. My family. I only wish to keep her safe, but this is a promise made that I can not keep.” Emily informed her.

“What promise? To who? Damon? How the hell do you even know him?” Ellie questioned.

They were in the woods by the time that Emily stopped to answer. “There are things my dear girl, that you remain blissfully unaware of. It is a blessing. You must go. What I intend to do might become a situation of danger. I do not wish to cause you harm. Please, return to the safety of your home.”

“Emily, no, I get you’re already dead and all but Bonnie’s not. If the situation is dangerous, I can’t just leave her!” Ellie protested. 

The witch possessing her friend smiled an unfamiliar smile. “You are quite loyal. That is a very honorable trait. You wish to help Bonnie?” Emily asked her.

“Of course I do. That shouldn’t even be a question.” Ellie shot back.

“Sheila will be proud of how dedicated you are to the craft and to Bonnie. Help me destroy the amulet, and I’ll set Bonnie free.” Emily promised.

“How? What do you want me to do?” Ellie asked.

“Your bracelet, give it to me.” Emily said and Ellie handed it over without hesitation. “You can trust me, I promise.”

“You are quite literally in the process of breaking one of your promises. Right now that doesn’t mean jack to me. Just protect Bonnie, please.”

“I will do everything I can to protect her and you.” Emily said as she slid the bracelet onto her wrist. She muttered something under her breath and then Ellie felt her body fall before she realized it was happening. Everything had faded to black. She didn’t know how much time had passed when things started to come in the way a broken radio signal did.

_ “...hurts…. On people…” _

_ “Stefan.” _ That Bonnie… wait no Emily. Why was Stefan there?  _ “These people don’t deserve this… never have to know such evil.” _

_ “What do… mean evil?” _

_ “Emily! I swear… god… you regret this.”  _ What the hell was happening? Was that Stefan and Damon? God her head hurt.

_ “I won’t let you unleash them into this world.” _

_ “Them? What…. Leave out…” _

_ “...it matter?” _

_ “Emily, tell me what you did.” _

_ “Save her… save them.” _

_ “...everyone in… church?” _

_ “...one comes all.”  _ Why couldn’t Ellie focus? What church?

_ “...don’t care… want ka…” _

_ “I knew… believed… word… out of your mouth. This…. Love… revenge.” _

_ “...mutually exclusive.” _

_ “You can’t do this!” _

_ “Why not? They… people… called it… deserve...” _

_ “... they were… can’t just… back…. You’re blaming innocent people for something that happened…”  _ Was everything slowly coming back into focus or were they just yelling?

_ “There is nothing innocent… don’t think for…. Happen again. They already know too much…. Burn… grandwitch… find out. Trust me.” _

_ “Things are different now…. Can’t free them. I won’t.  _ Incendia! _ ”  _ Ellie could see the brightness of what had to be fire. She knew that spell, but everything was getting dark again and fast. She heard a scream. Was that Elena? God no. There was an explosion and sparks rained down. The heat of the fire disappeared, replaced by the sounds of Bonnie’s screams, but Ellie couldn’t move. 

It was silent for a while, until the night was filled with Elena’s scream.  _ “Ellie!” _ She was just barely hanging on to the last piece of her consciousness that she could grab, but it wasn’t enough to open her eyes or assure her sister.  _ “Stefan help! Oh god is she dead?” _ Elena’s voice was shaking and she felt a trembling hand reach out for her neck.

_ “She’s alive, just unconscious. We need to get her to your car.” _ Someone was picking her up with ease. It couldn’t have been Elena then. Everything was all messed up and she felt like she was fading. The next thing she could focus on was the feel of the familiar seats of Elena’s car.

_ “I don’t understand, Elena, what happened to me? He… his face...” _

_ “How do  _ you feel? Are you ok?” Elena's voice seemed to come into focus.

“I’m fine. It’s… it’s just this blood. I don’t…” 

There was a painful silence until, “I’m not gonna hurt you.” Stefan?

“What’s going on, Elena?”

“I’ll explain everything, Bonnie, ok? Let’s just get out of here. Bonnie. Bonnie, look at me. Trust me. He’s not going to hurt you. Come on. Come on. Shh, get in.” Elena’s voice became muffled after the car door shut and pain blossomed behind Ellie’s closed eyes and maybe Stefan’s voice. She couldn’t tell. After a while, Elena’s voice was clearer. “You’re just gonna walk away? Don’t walk away, Stefan!  _ Stefan! _ ” Not long after, Elena got in the car and as they started to drive away, Ellie’s grip on her consciousness wavered and she fell into oblivion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy April Fool's Day guys! I hope you guys are all doing ok. Please leave a comment and give me your thoughts about the story and if there's anything you'd like to see.
> 
> Posted 4/1/20


	10. The Turning Point

**Chapter 10: The Turning Point**

_ December 2, 2009 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ My memory of what happened that night, it’s blurry at best. I remember talking to Emily and giving her my bracelet, but after that it gets all fuzzy. I’m not sure what really happened and what I imagined. Bonnie and Elena have been very  _ very _ hush hush about whatever the hell happened. They said they found me passed out in the woods, but offered no explanation to how that had happened. I need to go talk to Grams about it. _

Ellie sat at the counter as she finished off a plate of eggs. She stood from the counter and walked over to Jenna just as Elena came down the stairs and announced, “Jeremy’s got his sketch pad out.”

“You’re kidding.” Jenna said in disbelief as a smile appeared. 

“Nope, but don’t say a word. The minute we encourage him, he’ll put it away.” Elena reminded her.

“Psychology major. Check that.” Jenna replied. “You and Stefan? Update?” 

“He knows how I feel and where I stand, and I know where he stands, but it doesn’t matter. He’s leaving. Moving away.” Elena confessed.

“What?” Ellie asked in shock. “He’s leaving?”

“Where’s he going?” Jenna questioned.

“I’ve stopped asking questions.” Elena told them as she pulled open the door. “The answers get scary.”

“Yours leaves. Mine returns.” Jenna said as they walked down the porch.

“What? Scum Fell came back?” Ellie asked as her nose scrunched up in distaste.

“He’s back.” Jenna confirmed as the twins groaned. “I didn’t let him past the front door.”

“I hope you slammed it in his face.” Elena told her.

“Ah, medium slam.” Jenna admitted.

“Gross, he deserves an extreme slam.” Ellie told her.

“Three strike rule, Jenna.” Elena said. “You’re not even allowed to watch the news.”

“Exactly. No more Logan ‘Scum’ Fell.” Jenna replied with a nod. “Now we just need to get Ellie a guy so that we can have boy troubles all around.”

“Oh, please spare me. I think I’ll pass.” Ellie scoffed as Jenna bumped their hips together. “Your guy is literal trash that doesn’t know how lucky he was to have you and Stefan and Elena can’t keep it together for five minutes.”

“Hey!” Elena protested.

“Don’t even try to tell me I’m wrong. You and Matt never had mini breakups and you and Stefan can never seem to get in the right place.” Ellie commented. She wasn’t trying to be rude, but she was telling the truth. “Also… why are we walking again?”

“To get some fresh air.” Jenna supplied.

“We can roll the windows down. This is not a short walk.” Ellie whined. “But seriously Jenna, when I see Logan ‘Scum’ Fell I make no promises about restraining myself from beating him to hell and back.”

“Fair enough.” Jenna agreed with a shrug.

“Besides, if what I hear from Jeremy is true I don’t have to worry about Scum Fell anyways.” Ellie sang.

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Elena asked, her eyebrows slowly raising to her hairline.

“Our  _ darling _ Aunt Jenna is seducing our favorite history teacher, Mr. Saltzman.” Ellie informed her.

“I am not  _ seducing _ anyone.” Jenna corrected but both Elena and Ellie gave her skeptical looks.

“Admit it, Jenna. You think he’s smokin hot.” Ellie taunted.

“He’s your teacher.” Jenna tried.

“And you think he’s smokin.” Elena confirmed, a devious grin on her face as their aunt’s face began to flush. “Oh my god Jenna why didn’t you tell us. We will definitely put in a good word for you.”

“Several good words as a matter of fact.” Ellie added.

“God, I am so not a teenager.” Jenna told them. “I don’t need you nudging to set us up.”

“Which means that you know you’ve already got him in the bag, huh?” Ellie teased.

“You two are awful.” Jenna groaned.

“Now you know how I feel.” Ellie shot back.

“You two are so overdramatic it’s not that bad.” Elena told them.

Jenna gave Ellie a look but the older twin just rolled her eyes. “Anyways, how’s Bonnie? Jeremy said he thought she looked really spooked when you guys came home the other night.” Jenna asked.

Ellie reached for her wrist, where the bracelet she’d given Emily normally resided. Bonnie hadn’t said anything about the bracelet, so Ellie wondered if the other girl even realized she had it. Emily also hadn’t explained why she wanted the bracelet in the first place. “She’s fine. She just got scared by an animal.” Elena lied and she subtly raised her eyebrows, a plea for her sister to keep quiet. Ellie was too preoccupied thinking about Emily to bother protesting. Would it be possible for her to reach the witch again? Without Bonnie? Something about the older witch just radiated power.

“Ellie?”

“Hmm?”

“Oh, I was just saying that you and Tyler should definitely go out.” Elena said.

“What?!” Ellie couldn’t help her screech. “Me and Tyler? What drugs are you on?”

Elena was the perfect embodiment of the cat that caught the canary. “What? I think you two would be cute together.” She was positively saccharine.

“God. You two wouldn’t know butting out if it hit you with a truck.” Ellie scoffed but her sister and aunt just smiled warmly at her. “Why would you even think to have me go the Tyler route?” 

“I don’t know. He seems less of a jerk with you.” Elena told her.

“He’s not… he’s not totally a jerk. He’s just got serious anger issues. Besides I wouldn’t date a guy this is literally always three seconds away from getting into a fight to the death with my brother at the slightest temptation.” Ellie explained.

“She’s thought about this.” Jenna remarked to Elena. “You think he’s smokin hot.”

Ellie rolled her eyes at the repetition of her earlier statement but still fought the urge to grin. She put on her best annoyed face and rolled her eyes. “Please Tyler is so not my type.” 

“Oh, you have a type? Do tell?” Elena teased.

“Not that.” Ellie assured them both. By the time Ellie and Elena finally made it to school, Elena had disappeared to find Bonnie and Ellie ironically enough found herself with Tyler.

Her attention was drawn away from the conversation at the sound of Matt’s voice. “And then the ballet dancer and the krumper did the salsa.”

“Well, I was awake for that.” Caroline was telling him.

“Well, I don’t know when you fell asleep. Um, did you see the Celine Dion waltz about cancer?” Matt asked.

Caroline gasped, “Those  _ always _ make me cry.”

“Yeah and then the loud judge kept screamin’ and I couldn’t take it, so I turned it off.” Matt confessed. By now Tyler and Jack had noticed and turned to watch.

Caroline’s jaw dropped in faux-offense. “I sat through Family Guy so you owed me.” She told the boy.

“Did I miss something?” Tyler questioned as he adjusted against the wall to watch the blondes.

“They’ve been hanging out.” Ellie informed him.

“Huh.” Tyler said as his eyebrow quirked up.

“No ‘huh’. She needs somebody like him. Someone that’s not a royal dickhead. Someone that’s nice like him.” She gave him a pointed look and he just laughed as he tossed his arm over her shoulders.

“You sayin’ I’m not nice Gilbert?” He laughed and gave Jack a hurt look. “She’s sayin’ I’m not nice Jack. My heart is being torn to pieces.”

“I can tell. I think you need to see a doctor about that.” Jack informed him seriously.

“Oh shut up you absolute troll. I’m saying that you act like a dickhead at any given opportunity. You’d be kinda ok if you didn’t act like a douche.” She explained.

“Kinda ok. Wow, that makes me feel fantastic.”

“As it should, Lockwood.” Ellie smirked. “Ok loser, I have things to do. Try not to get into any fights today.” She could see him flipping her off from the corner of her eye and just grinned as she walked off.

* * *

After school had ended Ellie found herself watching Tyler and Matt play basketball. She could see a question brewing with the way Tyler kept eyeing Matt, and she was fairly sure she could guess what it was. “So what’s up with you and Forbes?” Tyler finally asked Matt and Ellie could have laughed. He was entirely too predictable.

“Nothin’s up.” Matt denied.

“I saw you two in the hall today. So did Ellie.” Tyler told him. “Don’t even try and deny it, bro. You’re tappin that.”

“No, it’s not like that.” Matt told him.

“Don’t ever phrase that like that again, Tyler Lockwood. That’s my best friend you’re talking about.” Ellie warned with a dark glare.

“It’s never ‘like that’, till you become ‘we people’.” Tyler explained.

“We people?” Matt questioned.

“‘We can’t make it to the party’. ‘We’ll never miss a game’. ‘We don’t like the color red’.” Tyler said sarcastically.

“We hung out, like, twice.” Matt told him.

“Like I said, ‘we’.” Tyler told him as he took a shot at the goal and Ellie spied the way Matt was grinning slightly.

“For the record Matt, I am in full support of you and Caroline, if you want to get together, of course.” Ellie told him as she pushed herself to stand. “Now, I have things to do that are more important than watching you two play basketball.”

“I’m hurt Gilbert.” Tyler scoffed but the two boys hugged her goodbye. She needed to get home and drop off her things before the career fair later that night. By the time she got home, both Jeremy and Jenna were already there.

“Jenna, are you coming to the career thingy tonight?” Ellie asked.

“Of course, gotta promote your promising careers.” Jenna said with a smile.

“And it doesn’t matter whatsoever that there’s gonna be a really really cute history teacher of mine in attendance, right?” Ellie said mockingly.

“Hush you.” Jenna warned as she shoved Ellie’s arm.

“Hey, what do you think?” Jeremy asked them as he held up his sketch book, displaying a scary looking vampire face.

“Creepy.” Jenna told him.

“Truly quite spooky.” Ellie assured.

“Found this old journal in dad’s stuff… Jonathan Gilbert from the 1800s. He’s kind of a freak show. He wrote about demons and all these people getting slaughtered and...” Jeremy explained.

“Yeah, he was a writer.” Jenna said as she and Ellie sat on the back of the couch. “Short stories, horror stuff.”

“Oh, he wrote fiction? Figured he was just a lunatic or a drunk.” Jeremy admitted.

“Well, he was a Gilbert, probably a bit of both.” Jenna confirmed.

Ellie scoffed. “You only diss him because you’re not a Gilbert.”

“Thank god for that. Besides, am I wrong?”

“No… probably not.” Ellie said. “Hey, Jenna, I have to go do some stuff but I’ll see you at the thing at school, yeah?”

“Yeah. I’ll be there.” 

“Wear something pretty.” Ellie sang. “Jeremy don’t you ditch it. I’ll make you eat microwavable dinners for a week.”

“The horror.” He said sarcastically. With a warning glare he just waved her off, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there.”

The drive from her home to Sheila’s somehow seemed to have grown shorter the more familiar it became. As she made her way inside and to the kitchen with the older witch to make chamomile tea like they always did, the familiarity made it feel like Sheila was more than just her witch teacher, almost like she was her Grams too. So as they sat to drink their tea, Ellie asked, “Did you see the news about that woman they found?”

“I did. You should be careful dear. I wouldn’t want for you to get hurt.” Sheila commented. “How are you? We haven’t gotten a chance to properly speak since the whole ordeal with Emily. I still haven’t gotten all the information as to what happened.”

She took a moment to think. Everything from that night was still fuzzy in parts. It almost felt like she was trying to watch an old tape, but it was worn out in places, leaving nothing but frustrating static. “Emily… she seemed, well, like a witch on a mission. After she possessed Bonnie, she got out of the house as fast as she could and was talking about a promise and that he couldn’t have it. I’m not really sure who ‘he’ is, but she was intent on not doing whatever it is that he wanted. I remember her asking for my bracelet and then collapsing. I think she was talking to someone about innocent people maybe? Everything after giving her my bracelet is really fuzzy.”

“Emily was speaking to someone?” Sheila inquired, placing her drink down on the napkin.

“Mmhmm, I remember yelling. It was like listening underwater. I remember hearing them, but I couldn’t really tell you Elena from Katy Perry.” Ellie admitted. “I… I think Emily said something about protecting me.”

Sheila didn’t seem surprised. “Then she must see what I see in you. Those that have passed are not always gone when it comes to supernatural beings. I’m sure she will keep her word to you.”

“Even though she didn’t keep her word to whoever ‘he’ was?”

“If Emily broke her word to someone, it was for a very good reason. However, if she told you that she was going to protect you, I have no doubt that she will.” Ellie’s fiddling must have been a give away. “What is it?”

“I just wonder… if Emily and other supernaturals that have died don’t just… go away is it possible to talk to them? Learn from them?” Ellie inquired.

“Yes, but it’s not commonly done. Some don’t want to speak to the deceased, or the deceased don’t want to help, and sometimes it’s difficult to make contact. Why?” Grams asked.

Ellie shrugged. “You make it sound like Emily was this super strong witch. Learning from her if possible seems like an opportunity too good to pass up.” She confessed and didn’t mask the surprise she felt from the way Grams gave her a proud and pleased expression.

“Clever of you to think like that, dear.” She praised. Ellie watched the older witch as she rose from her seat and walked over to the bookcase. “Witches, we tend to have items of significance. Emily had the talisman that Bonnie wore, but that wasn’t the only important item of hers.” Sheila explained as she pulled a very thin bracelet from a decorative box. It wasn’t nearly as gaudy as the necklace had been. It was a simple looking braided bracelet, and looked as if it were made from scrap material. “From what I understand, Emily’s youngest daughter Alice made it for her some time after they moved to Mystic Falls. Gems and jewels are always effective, but this held a strong sentimental value for Emily. Since the necklace is no longer a viable option, maybe this can help you in your endeavor to reach her.”

Ellie took the bracelet and felt the unfamiliar fabric between her fingers before slipping it onto her wrist, in the place where her old bracelet used to reside. “In my endeavor… does that mean you aren’t going to help me?”

“Some things must be done on our own, but I will tell you that there are things that you can draw on for additional strength. The elements. Most of us use candles and fire.” Sheila said as she returned to her seat. “Feel free to go through the grimoires and see if there is any spell in particular that you would like to use. Now I know you want to learn when you come here, but I have essays to grade, I’m afraid.”

The young Gilbert just laughed and nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll just look through the grimoires.” Ellie placed her cup next to Sheila’s before walking over to the bookcase and grabbed the first grimoire she saw. The time seemed to fly past and she was only startled from her readings at the loud sound of her phone ringing. “Hey Care, what’s up?”

_ “Where are you? I thought you said you were gonna be here by now?” _ Caroline whined.

“Huh?” Ellie found the clock sitting next to the lamp. She was supposed to be at the school five minutes ago to go with Caroline. “Crap. I’m on my way. Bye Care.”

_ “Ok. See you soon.” _ Caroline replied and the call ended.

“Hey, Grams, I have to get to the school for the career night!” Ellie called as she put the grimoires back in their places. “Caroline just called, I was supposed to meet her and I’m already late.”

“Of course, did you find anything of use?” Sheila questioned.

“I did actually. Thank you for letting me have free reign over the grimoires and to steal all your tea.” Ellie told her as she put her notebook in her bag. 

Sheila looked up from the essay she held to smile at the young Gilbert. “Have a good time Ellie, make sure to pay attention to what they’re saying. It’s important to make good life decisions. There’s plenty of careers to choose from. Or you could channel your witch and be an occult studies professor like me.”

“Oh you say that like it’s a bad thing. Surely watching regular people mess up the basics must be entertaining.” Ellie asked.

“It can be… and then sometimes you get people like this student who talks about Sabrina Spellman, one of the witches burned at Salem.” Sheila said with a sigh and Ellie nearly choked on her surprised laughter.

“What? Someone seriously wrote that?” Ellie asked.

“Unfortunately yes. Maybe they think I’m so old and crazy that I won’t notice. Or they really just don’t care. Maybe both.” Sheila said with a sigh. “Go, go, I’m sure Caroline’s waiting.”

“Yeah, she’ll freak if I take too much longer.” Ellie agreed. “Ok, I’ll see you later.” With Sheila’s goodbye, Ellie got in her car and headed for the school. 

“Thank  _ god _ you’re here. How do I look? Do I look ok?” Caroline asked nervously as she pulled at the ends of her shirt.

“Care, you look beautiful, as always. Why? Are you trying to impress someone?” Ellie asked as she looped her arm through Caroline’s as they walked in. When Caroline tensed, Ellie figured that they were near the person Caroline wanted to see. “Look, you are Caroline Forbes and the best girl in this entire town. I have never  _ ever _ seen someone with such an effective ability to make adults think that you are the best thing since sliced bread. Now, get over there and snag yourself a job for the future.”

“I really love you. You know that? Thank you.” Caroline said as she straightened up and strutted over to a booth and started chatting away with the woman with confidence.

“Go get ‘em, Care.” Ellie said with a proud smile as she walked away. She found Tyler in the section with art, which didn’t surprise her in the least. “Hey Ty.”

“Hey. Surprised you aren’t with Caroline.” He said with a laugh.

“She is my other half but I can function on my own surprisingly enough.” Ellie sassed. “What about you? If your dad sees you anywhere near the art section he’d probably have a stroke.”

“Ah, guess I’ll just have to blame you for it then to get him off my ass.” Tyler told her as they moved to another booth.

“You’d use me as a human shield?” She said with an over dramatic gasp. “How rude. Then again, yeah go ahead. He’s definitely not my favorite person.”

Tyler just grinned at her before they turned to look at the folder of student art that was being displayed. Ellie was sure some of Tyler’s work would be displayed there. Little known fact about the Lockwood boy was that he was actually quite talented with art, but his dick of a dad hated it. Jeremy came up beside them and looked at Tyler in surprise. “What do you want?” Tyler asked.

“Hey. Uh, just surprised to see you here.” Jeremy said as he walked closer. “Art usually implies culture, and culture implies, well, not you.”

Ellie scoffed as she whacked her brother’s arm. “Don’t be a dick, Jer.”

“Go to hell.” Tyler said simply before turning to walk off. Ellie glared at her brother before turning to follow after Tyler.

“Thanks for not fighting him for antagonizing you.” She said and he just waved her off.

“It’s whatever. He’s a dumbass kid.” Tyler said.

“I mean, so are you, but thanks.” Ellie said sincerely.

Tyler’s attention was drawn to something ahead of them, his dad. “God, I do not want to deal with him right now.” He groaned and Ellie didn’t hesitate to grab him by his arm and pull him down the hallway to avoid the mayor. “Why is he even here? It’s not like he gives a crap.”

“Because he has to play nice to stay mayor.” Ellie reminded him. They went around looking at the booths until Jenna came up and buried her head in Ellie’s shoulder with huff. “What’s up, Jenna?”

“Hide me. Scum.” Jenna begged. Ellie looked around and saw Logan standing a good bit away, but even then Ellie wanted nothing more than to smack his stupid smug smirk off of his face.

“Wait, what?” Tyler asked as he straightened up in case he needed to kick someone’s ass.

“Ok, we gotta go Tyler or I’m gonna end up in jail for murder.” Ellie said as she quickly pulled Jenna away, leaving Tyler confused and alone. “Come on, we’re getting extra Scum protectant.”

They walked hastily through the halls and found Stefan and Elena talking in one of the classrooms. “Hide me.” Jenna repeated.

“What’s going on?” Elena asked.

“The Scum Fell has landed.” Jenna informed her.

Elena sighed in annoyance as she said, “Logan’s here.”

“Wait. Logan Fell?” Stefan questioned as his gaze flickered between the three of them.

“Unfortunately the one and only.” Ellie confirmed and he immediately turned and walked out of the classroom. Ellie followed him out of the classroom and saw that his stare was locked on Logan who was giving him a smug smile and wave. “Stefan, what’s up?” 

“Stefan, what’s going on?” Elena asked as she and Jenna also stepped out into the hallway.

“Jenna, are you dodging me?” Logan asked as he walked over to them and Ellie subconsciously moved closer to her aunt.

“It’s a form of self-preservation.” Jenna sassed.

“And the best thing she’s ever done in regards to you.” Ellie added and if she could burn him to the ground with her glare, he’d have been nice and crispy.

“Um, Elena, why don’t you, Ellie, and Jenna go somewhere else?” Stefan suggested but gave the youngest Gilbert girl a significant look.

Ellie had no clue what it meant, but Elena seemed to understand instantly, her hands grasping at Ellie and Jenna, telling them, “Let’s go.” Ellie’s protests of confusion were ignored as Elena pulled them farther and farther away from Logan and Stefan. “When Logan came to the house, what did he say?”

“Fake flattery. Stupid, dimpled grin.” Jenna replied. “Puppy dog eyes.”

“I’m serious, Jenna. How did he act? What did he say?” Elena persisted.

“He was the usual Logan, was charming, little more manic than usual. He kept trying to convince me to let him in.” Jenna told her and they both noticed the way Elena tensed. “What?”

“Ok, listen to me  _ very _ carefully. Do not, under any circumstances, talk to him again. I’m serious, Jenna, like ever.” Elena stressed and both Ellie and Jenna were unsure as to what caused the sudden change in character.

“Hey, Elena, Ellie.” A man greeted and Ellie turned to see Mr. Saltzman standing just behind them. “Jenna.”

“Hi, Mr. Saltzman.” The twins chimed together and Ellie grinned at seeing both Jenna and Mr. Saltzman looking slightly awkward and blushing.

“Yeah, I was hopin’ to, uh, see you tonight.” Mr. Saltzman said to Jenna.

“Career night is the new bowling.” Jenna joked. When Mr. Saltzman laughed at the bad joke Ellie was sure then and there that they were made for each other. In her opinion, if liked someone enough to laugh at a really dumb joke then it’s a match made in heaven.

“Ok, um, excuse me.” Elena said and started to walk away from the adults and their awkward flirting.

Ellie followed along after her, curious as to what had her sister so bent out of shape. “Elena, what the hell is going on? You’re teetering on the edge of acting like a crazy person.”

“Listen, it’s nothing I just need to go find Stefan. I’ll be back… I just gotta go.” Elena’s excuse was weak but she left no room for argument as she blended into the crowd of people.

Elena was acting so bizarre as of late and Ellie couldn’t figure out what was causing it. If it was Stefan then surely Elena would just tell her, right? She’d always told Ellie everything. Her thoughts were unable to linger on her sister as a familiar blonde looped their arms together. “Ok, so what careers are you looking at?”

“I don’t even know Caroline, I’ve been preoccupied.” Ellie confessed. “What about you? Still into broadcast journalism?”

Caroline hummed. “I am.”

“When are you going to tell your mom? Don’t you think she’d be interested in knowing what her daughter wants to do with her future?” Ellie asked softly. She was aware that stuff like this was a sensitive topic for Caroline, who often felt like her mother didn’t really care.

“Actually, yeah, I think I should tell her.” Caroline caught her by surprise and the brunette was left speechless as Caroline dragged her along. “Mom!” The Sheriff turned at the sound of her daughter’s call and Caroline grabbed her hand as they headed for the broadcast journalism booth.

“What are you doing?” Sheriff Forbes asked as she allowed Caroline to lead her.

“Following my future.” Caroline told her as they came to a stop in front of the booth. “There it is.”

“Broadcast journalism?” Sheriff Forbes asked skeptically.

“Yes. Broadcast journalism.” Caroline said with a smile. Ellie knew that the blonde also spotted the look her mother was making as she asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You don’t even read the paper.”

Caroline just rolled her eyes and walked off in disappointment as Ellie trailed after her. “Care…” Ellie called once they were far enough away.

“She doesn’t  _ care _ , Ellie. She’s not like your mom. Your mom was so involved in everything you and Elena and Jeremy ever wanted to be and was so supportive of you. You told your mom you wanted to be a ballerina and she had you in classes the very next day. You told your mom that you wanted to make a volcano for science and she dropped everything she was doing to help you. And that was when she was in the middle of helping Lisa Fell make her pageant dress. A dress your mom was literally making by hand. My mom listens for a total of five seconds before scoffing in my face.” Caroline ranted. “Why can’t my mom just look at me and for once not see a selfish little brat with an airhead and see how much I miss my mom?”

They were sitting at the top of a staircase away from the flow of people as Ellie pulled Caroline to her. “Caroline, all mothers aren’t the same. Yes, I had an amazing mother who loved me so much that I will never forget it, but she’s also gone. Your mom is still here Caroline. No, she doesn’t dote on you like my mom, but don’t doubt for a second whether she loves you or not. I mean Matt’s mom hasn’t even been back in who knows how long. Care, your mom loves you.” Ellie assured her.

“Well can she at least attempt to show that she cares because it really freaking sucks to feel like I’m this massive disappointment to my mom.” Caroline told her.

“You are not a massive disappointment to anyone and if a single soul tries to say otherwise I will promptly kick their ass.” Ellie’s threat brought a smile to Caroline’s face.

Caroline sat up and gave Ellie a curious look. “I will never understand what I did to deserve to have a best friend like you.” She said honestly.

“You didn’t have to do anything Caroline. You’ll never have to do anything to earn my friendship. I will always be your friend.” Ellie told her.

“I love you a lot, you know.” 

“I love you more, you know.”

“Not possible.” Caroline denied, her tears fading away as she smiled brightly.

“Oh, but it is.” Ellie corrected.

“Ok, not to kill our moment and all, but is that your brother following Tyler?” Caroline asked, and near the bottom of the stairs she could see Tyler walking and Jeremy very much trailing after him. “Go.” Caroline told her. “That could very easily turn into a fight.”

“Thanks Care, love you.” Ellie said as she pressed a kiss to Caroline’s hairline before rushing down the stairs.

As she caught up to them, she could hear Jeremy making a comment about Tyler’s drawings. “It’s an elective.” Tyler told him.

“‘Cause it’s good stuff. You like graphics? ‘Cause that’s uh, that’s kind of my thing.” Jeremy said.

“Whoa, whoa, what are you doin’?” Tyler took the question right out of Ellie’s mouth.

“Well, it’s just something else we have in common.”

“And what’s the other thing? Vicki?” Tyler asked sarcastically and Ellie felt herself start to tense. This wasn’t going to end well, she just knew it. “Let’s hang out because we did the same chick? Go be friends with one of the many other guys that she screwed. There’s no shortage of them.”

“Tyler!” Ellie hissed but Jeremy had slammed him up into the lockers. “Jeremy stop!”

“Whoa! Whoa! Hey, hey, hey!” The mayor appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Tyler as Mr. Saltzman yanked Jeremy away from him.

“All right, work it out tough guy.” Mr. Saltzman said to Jeremy as he kept him to the lockers on the other side.

“You two, follow me.” The mayor said as he kept a hand firmly on Tyler’s chest to keep him in place.

He gave Tyler a bit of a push and the younger Lockwood started walking and Jeremy went as well. “Excuse me, Mayor.” Mr. Saltzman called and the three turned around. “Where are you taking them?”

“I’m gonna talk to ‘em. All fights should end in handshakes, don’t you think?” The mayor said, before telling the boys, “Come on.”

As they disappeared down the hallway, worry crept inside Ellie’s gut. “Mr. Saltzman.” She said softly when the man started to leave. “I don’t like this. Mayor Lockwood has a temper, even if most people aren’t aware. I don’t think him taking them is a good idea.” She confessed. No one really ever said anything bad about the mayor, but he had her brother and one of her best friends, she couldn’t not say anything.

“It’ll be ok, don’t worry.” Mr. Saltzman said before he slowly walked away.

She didn’t try to call him back, instead she went after the three of them, trying to find where they’d gone. When she came across one of the exits to outside, she stuck her head out and found Mayor Lockwood with his back to her, facing the two teens. “Get this out of your system.” Mayor Lockwood was saying. “Go ahead, fight.”

“You want us to what?” Jeremy asked in disbelief as Ellie came outside entirely.

“I’m not gonna fight him, dad.” Tyler told the older man, his voice tired, like this was something he’d grown accustomed to.

“I don’t think so, sir.” Jeremy said and he started to head back inside but Mayor Lockwood stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

“You don’t fight in there like pansies. You take it outside, fight your battles like men, and move on. Best lesson my dad taught me. So let’s settle this. Fight.” Mayor Lockwood said.

“Come on, dad.”

Ellie opened her mouth to stop him when Mr. Saltzman stepped outside and put a hand on her arm. “I’ve got this, get out of sight.” He warned her lowly and she nodded before standing behind a pillar, just enough so that Mayor Lockwood wouldn’t see her. 

“You know, it’s not gonna happen.” Jeremy denied.

She could see Tyler trying to leave, but his father shoved him back harshly. “I said fight!”

“Whoa, what’s going on out here?” Mr. Saltzman said, announcing his presence.

“Just lettin’ these two kids work it out.” Mayor Lockwood said in a smooth voice, the anger from a moment ago gone. “We’re good here. Go back inside.”

“I don’t wanna go back inside.” Mr. Saltzman told him and Ellie felt a strong wave of affection for the older man. Not many, actually no one stood up to the mayor. “What I want is an answer to my question. What’s goin’ on out here?”

The mayor turned back slowly, and Ellie could practically see the anger radiating off of him. “Who do you think you’re talking to?” He asked. “Do I look like a student?”

“No, you look like a full grown alpha male douche bag.” Mr. Saltzman retorted and Ellie felt her jaw drop as Tyler’s eyes went wide and Jeremy tried not to laugh.

“You don’t talk to me like that.” Mayor Lockwood warned. “I can have your job like this.” He said with a snap.

Mr. Saltzman laughed in his face. “Ah, you do that.” He taunted. “Then it’ll be you and me in this parking lot working things out. You cool with that?”

“You just marked yourself.” Mayor Lockwood threatened.

“Ok.” Mr. Saltzman said, clearly unimpressed.”You all right?” He asked Jeremy once the Lockwoods were gone.

Ellie appeared from behind the pillar and walked over to them. “God I knew Mayor Lockwood was a dick, but I didn’t know Tyler had it that bad.” She confessed.

“You knew his dad was a jerk?” Jeremy questioned.

“Yeah, I remember when we were at his house in like seventh grade he accidentally broke a vase while we were playing on his playstation and his dad got so mad that he threw the playstation out of the window and destroyed it.” Ellie said. “God I can’t believe I didn’t realize how bad it was.”

“Sometimes you just don’t know, don’t beat yourself up, Ellie.” Mr. Saltzman consoled. “So you’re ok, Jeremy?” 

This time, Jeremy nodded in response to the question. “Yeah, thanks for helping us out Mr. Saltzman.” Jeremy told the older man.

“Don’t worry about it. I really just hate assholes.” Ellie and Jeremy both grinned at him. With a laugh, he said, “I probably shouldn’t be swearing in front of you two, I’m supposed to be a good example after all.”

“Please, what better example could you set than standing up to over confident bullies?” Ellie asked.

“Fair enough, just don’t let the other teachers know I swore in front of you. I might lose my job like this.” He said with a snap, the way Mayor Lockwood had done. The Gilbert kids laughed and he said, “Alright, let’s get you guys back inside.” They obediently followed him back inside. “I need to go, you two behave yourselves, I might not be there to stop the next douche bag.”

“No promises.” Ellie joked and he grinned at her before walking off. “What is it, Jer? I can almost hear your thoughts.”

“I was thinking that maybe I should go talk to Tyler.” He admitted. “Do you think that would be a bad idea?”

“Bad idea? No. Could it end badly based on his mood? Yes.” She told him. “Come on, I’ll go with you. He’s probably outside so that he’s not around anybody else.” She was right and they found him sitting on the top of a picnic table, staring blankly at the ground as he twisted his hands. 

“Hey.” Jeremy called as they approached.

“What do you want?” Tyler asked as he stood up and stepped towards them.

“I don’t know.” Jeremy said truthfully. “I uh, I thought that was weird with your dad, what he did. Is he like that all the time? Is that… is that what you gotta go through? Man, I… I get it. I get it.” Tyler pulled back and punched Jeremy before Ellie forced her way in between them, hands on Tyler’s chest to make sure nothing else happened. “What’s your problem?”

“Look, I don’t need your pity.” Tyler told him.

“Seriously, you don’t have to be like this. You don’t.”

“Just go.”

“What is your problem, man?” Jeremy asked again as Tyler started to back away, Ellie moving with him.

“I don’t know, ok? I don’t know.” Tyler told him and she felt her heart go out to her friend.

“Jer, just go.” Ellie said as she started to pull Tyler farther away from her brother. “Ty, come on.” They came to a stop next to Matt’s truck and Ellie forced Tyler to look at her. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Sorry.” He apologized as he brushed her hands away from his face. “Listen, I’m sorry for punching Jeremy.”

“He’ll be ok, I’m more worried about you right now.”

With a huff he admitted, “I don’t know, I just get so angry sometimes, Ellie, and I do stupid shit and I’m really sorry.”

“Ty....”

“I need a ride.” Tyler said, ignoring her sad look as he focused on Matt walking towards them.

“Sure. Ellie, you need a ride too?”

“No thanks, Matty. I drove here.” She told him.

“Ok.” Matt said with a nod and he started to pass them to get to the driver’s seat before stopping and telling Tyler, “Look, I like Caroline. She’s got this thing, this… this way about her, and I like her, ok? And I’m not gonna defend it or apologize about it.”

“Ok.” Tyler said simply, his voice verging on exhaustion.

“So stop your little bromance bitch act.”

“Ok.” Tyler repeated.

Just before Matt got in the car, Ellie leaned over and whispered into his ear, “I may or may not be certain that Caroline likes you too.” Matt just gave her a smile and nodded before getting in his truck. She turned and pulled the Lockwood into a hug, the need to comfort him before he left too strong to do anything other than that. “Also, if your dad ever gets on your nerves too much, I can always sneak you in the house.”

“Oh, I’m sure Elena would have a field day with that.” He told her and gave her a soft smile. “I’ll be ok, Ellie. Thanks.” She nodded, almost reluctant to let him go, but still she moved away from the truck and waved as they backed out and drove away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, hope everyone is doing well. Let me know what you thought about this chapter or if there's something you want to see. I hope all of you stay safe.
> 
> Posted 4/8/20


	11. Bloodlines

**Chapter 11: Bloodlines**

_ December 3, 2009 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ Last night was… eventful. Tyler’s dad is a grade A asshole but Mr. Saltzman stopped him from doing what he’d planned on. Maybe one day Tyler won’t have it so bad. Everything just seems so weird, but I just need to get myself to somewhat of a normal routine. Go to school, practice, and I don’t know, normal things people do. _

The kitchen was filled with the smell of bacon as Ellie slipped the last of it onto the plate and set it out on the counter. “Good morning, Ellie.” Jenna greeted as she grabbed a plate to fix her food.

“Morning Jenna, how’s your school stuff going?” Ellie asked.

“My advisor has me doing revisions on literally everything but I’m almost done. Well, at least I hope I’m almost done. They could change their mind and give me another fifty things to change. I’m so tired of them nitpicking at everything.” Jenna complained.

“Yeah, that sounds like it would get old and fast.” Ellie commented. “I’m gonna go see if Jer is up so he can get some breakfast.” She made her way upstairs and found Jeremy dressed but sitting on the bed, absorbed in what she assumed was Jonathan Gilbert’s journal. “Hey, Jer, put the journal down for five seconds and come eat.”

“Is Elena up yet?” Jeremy asked as he did as he was told. “I never heard her.”

“I’ll go see, head on down and eat.” Ellie told him as she walked through the bathroom to Elena’s room. “Hey, Elena, are you up?” She opened the door and found that Elena’s bed was perfectly made up, unslept in. “Elena?” There was no response, she had no idea where Elena would be. Surely not with Stefan... right? Maybe she was with Bonnie? She pulled her phone out and dialed Elena’s number. She listened to it ring and ring until her sister’s voice filtered through the phone telling her to leave a message. “Hey, Elena, I have literally no idea where you are, so can you call me back?”

When she walked back downstairs, both Jenna and Jeremy looked up. “Where’s Elena?” Jenna asked curiously.

“I’m not sure. Not here. I don’t know maybe she’s with Bonnie? I called her but she didn’t pick up so I left a voicemail. Surely I should see her at school.” Ellie said as she sat down to finish eating.

“That’s really weird. I’ll try calling her in a bit if you don’t see her at school.” Jenna said. “I’m sure she’s fine.” The teenagers nodded in agreement and ate quickly.

“Hey Jer, do you need a ride to school?” Ellie asked as the three of them put their dishes in the sink.

“Yeah that would be great actually. Let me grab my bag; I left it upstairs.” He told her before rushing off to his room.

“If you see Elena at school let me know. It’s not like her to not come home.” Jenna said seriously, very clearly concerned for Elena, as was Ellie.

“I will, right after I give her hell for not telling anyone she wasn’t coming home.” Ellie said as Jeremy appeared back in the kitchen, bag in hand. “All right, we’re gone Jenna. See you later.” As they headed to school, Ellie asked, “So, have you figured out what you wanna do for your topic?”

“Actually yeah, Jonathan Gilbert’s journal has a lot of good inspiration so I think I’m gonna focus on Mystic Falls during like the Civil War and all that stuff.” Jeremy told her.

“I’m sure you’ll do really well Jer. Mr. Saltzman really seems like he wants to give you a good grade.” Ellie said. 

Once they arrived at school they came across their new favorite teacher digging through his car and Jeremy said, “Hey, Mr. Saltzman.”

He turned back and saw them standing there and replied, “Hey Jeremy, Ellie. I um… can’t find my ring. I took it off for the gym and I thought I put it… there it is.” Mr. Saltzman said with a breath of relief as he stood up and slid the ring onto his finger. “Losing family heirlooms… bad. How’s your extra credit coming? You pick a topic yet?”

“Mystic Falls, the Civil War era.” Jeremy told him.

“What’s the angle?”

“My family. I found a journal of an ancestor who lived in the 1800s. And the Gilberts were one of the original founding families of Mystic Falls. So…” 

“That sounds good.” Mr. Saltzman commended.

“You’ll be very pleased to know that he’s been reading that journal like nonstop.” Ellie added.

“That is good to know. I’m really proud that you’re taking this assignment so seriously, Jeremy.” Mr. Saltzman praised. “Well, I gotta go, but I'll see you both later in your classes?”

They nodded before continuing on their way. Before classes started, she could have sworn that she saw Stefan, but he wasn’t in class. What she found more concerning was that Elena wasn’t in school. She asked Caroline and Bonnie if they’d seen her, which was a strong no. Tyler and Matt were also clueless, but she did find herself sitting with Tyler on a picnic table, trying to get him to talk. “Did your dad cool off?” She asked gently, entirely aware that if she phrased it wrong he would shut down and shut her out.

“Yeah, he went back to his normal dick levels after I got home but he was pissed with Mr. Saltzman. I really wouldn’t be surprised if he did everything he could to get Mr. Saltzman fired.” Tyler confessed.

“Well that would lead to him needing to explain why he wants Mr. Saltzman fired. ‘Oh yes, I want him gone because he didn’t let me make my kid and the Gilbert boy beat the shit out of each like real men’.” She mocked and the sass was enough to make Tyler laugh. “But really, you might have taken it as a joke but if it ever gets to where you really don’t want to be at home you can come to mine, Tyler.”

The Lockwood pulled her into a tight hug, pressing a kiss to her hairline. “Thank you, Ellie. That really means a lot to me.”

“Of course, someone has to take care of your royal dumbass.” 

“Mmhmm, that’s what it is. Admit it, you’re a big softie for me.” He retorted, hiding how touched he was behind a mask of sarcasm.

Jeremy made his appearance then, with his bag pushed high onto his shoulder. “Hey Ellie, do you think you can give me a ride to the library so I can do some more research?”

“Yeah, Jer, that sounds like a great idea.” Ellie said. “Don’t do anything stupid today, Tyler.” She teased as she slid off the picnic table. He waved her off and she and Jeremy headed for her car. “Hey, did you see Elena at all today? She wasn’t in class.”

“No, why? Do you think something bad happened?” Jeremy asked worriedly as they got in the car.

“I mean, I don’t think so, Stefan wasn’t at school either. So maybe they skipped together again and they are off somewhere being gross.” She suggested hopefully, but there was worry digging a hole in her stomach. Elena never used to randomly disappear before, but this isn’t the first time she’s done it since school started. “I’ll try calling her again when we get to the library.”

“Ok.”

Once they’d arrived, Ellie propped against her car. “You go on inside while I try and call Elena again.” He nodded, disappearing through the double doors as she listened to the sound of the call trying and failing to connect. Once she was told by Elena’s recording to leave a message she huffed, “Elena seriously, where the hell are you and why aren’t you answering the phone? Are you hurt? Because if you’re not hurt and you’re just ignoring my calls, you’re probably going to end up hurt. Just… damn it just call me back, Elena. I’m really starting to get worried.”

She found Jeremy waiting for her at the stairs. “Anything? Did she answer?” He asked as he fiddled with the piece of paper in his hands.

“Nope, I was given the voicemail again. Which means when she shows up at home, I’m going to  _ murder _ her.” Ellie told him seriously. “Like, not even a ‘hey, I’m alive’ text. If you ever do that you know you’ll die a slow and painful death right?”

“I’m very aware, thanks for the reminder though.” Jeremy told her as they turned down an aisle and he tried to find whatever was written on the paper. As he turned around several books were pushed forward, falling to the ground and giving the Gilberts a near stroke.

They both reached down and grabbed a couple of the books, as they stood a girl was hurriedly saying, “Oh my god, I am so sorry.” She apologized and Ellie was surprised to see Anna standing before them. “There was this one book wedged between the other and I pulled and then kaplunk, kaboom.” She rambled. “Are you ok?”

Ellie smiled softly when she saw Anna’s focus was entirely on Jeremy. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine.” He assured her. Jeremy and Anna knelt to get the rest of the books, and headbutted on accident.

Anna laughed before introducing herself to Jeremy. “I’m Anna.”

“Jeremy.” He said as he offered his hand for her to shake. “This is my older sister, Ellie.”

“Oh, we met a while back, Jer. But it’s nice to see you again Anna.” She said kindly.

“When did you guys meet?”

“We met at the comet thing. We only got to talk for a second before her blonde friend pulled her away.” Anna explained to him. “Ok, I feel really bad. I nearly attacked you with books and then headbutted you, anything I can do to help you out?”

Jeremy glanced up at Ellie and she shrugged, what could it hurt? “Um, yeah, ok, I’m writing a paper and I need some more information, but I’m hardly ever in the library so I don’t really know where anything is.” He confessed.

Anna was positively beaming at him. “Well, you bumped into the perfect person!” She told him happily. “Ok, let me give you the run down.” She immediately started listing off what the aisles had, with an accuracy quite impressive. “This aisle is local and state history and Civil War is one over.” She said. “What do you need?”

“Locals. 1860s. Do you work here?” He questioned but Ellie let herself be content to watch the two and their subtle flirting.

“Nope.You want reference. This way. Uh, home schooled. I study here for a mock school environment. Ah, here we go.” Anna said as she stopped by a section of books. “Original settlers, town archives, founders stuff. It’s all here. So what’s your topic?”

“Uh, the town’s fear and hysteria surrounding the war and how it influenced certain writers of the time.” Jeremy told her.

“You might want to focus that.” Anna suggested.

“The origin of local folklore and myths.”

“You mean the vampires?” Anna asked with a smile.

“The vampires? What?” Ellie asked with interest as they started pulling out books and setting them on the table. “You don’t mean like for real do you?”

“Mmhmm. For real.” She assured them as they sat down at the table.

“You’re kidding me, right? There’s no such thing as vampires.” Jeremy disagreed.

“Well, there’s not a lot of documentation but the stories have been told since the Civil War. My granddad used to tell me all these creepy stories when I was little. And he said that his granddad told them to him.” Anna explained.

“Yeah, that would be folklore. Vampires are a metaphor for the demons of the day.”

“Which are?”

“The Union soldiers. I’ve read the stories myself.” Jeremy said. “They talk about the enemy, the demons that attack at night.”

“That sounds like vampires to me.” Anna countered. “Don’t you think, Ellie?”

Surprised at Anna asking for her opinion, Ellie just kinda shrugged. “It does kind of sound like vampires, Jer.”

“Allegorical vampires. Which is what it is. Come on, Ellie, surely you don’t really buy this crap?” Jeremy asked. “Creative expression during a very volatile time. I mean, a country at war doesn’t want realism. They want fantasy. Thus, vampire fiction.”

“Man, you’re smart.” Anna confessed, and even to Ellie she was surprised at how much thought Jeremy had put into it. “I gotta give it to you. When I first saw you, I missed it.”

“Yeah, I’ve had a rough go of it lately, but I’m just now getting back to my old self.” He confessed.

“Well, good luck on your paper. I gotta get home.” Anna told him with a smile as she stood. “You know my great grandfather actually showed me a journal once of an ancestor and he had written all this creepy stuff about vampires. It was actually really believable.”

Ellie looked over to Jeremy, both of them quite confused. What were the chances that their ancestor and Anna’s had both written weird journals with the same type of things inside. “Wait, Anna. Did you say a journal?” Ellie questioned.

“Yeah? Why?”

“Are you sure you have to go?” Jeremy asked.

Anna took a glance at her watch and then shrugged. “I could probably stay a little while longer.”

As Anna sat back down, Ellie’s phone started to vibrate. “Hey, Jer, I gotta take this, it’s Jenna. I’ll see you later Anna.” Ellie said as she stood and rushed down the stairs and out of the library. “Hello? Jenna?”

_ “Ellie! Did you see Elena at school today? I just got a call and they said that she never showed up.” _ Jenna told her.  _ “I called her earlier and she told me that she slept at Bonnie’s and forgot to call because she wanted to get to school.” _

“What? I asked Bonnie earlier and she said she had no idea where Elena was and that she hadn’t seen her.” Ellie confessed. “I also asked Caroline and Matt and Tyler. No one saw her today.”

_ “Why would she lie? Elena never lies like that.” _ Jenna said with a huff. The blonde was not used to Elena causing any kind of problems.  _ “Ok, I’m going to keep trying to get in touch with her. If you reach her let me know.” _

“I will, Jenna.” She promised.

_ “Ok, I need to go and try and get in touch with her.” _ Jenna said.  _ “Love you, Ellie.”  _

“Love you too, Jenna.” Ellie replied before the call ended. The unsettled feeling in her stomach was back and she made a decision to send a quick text to Jeremy before heading out. As she drove, she subconsciously fiddled with Emily’s bracelet and it was like she just had a moment of blank space, one moment she was driving for her house and the next she was standing outside of a very old, creepy looking house. She turned around and could very faintly see the outline of her car in the distance. “Where the hell am I?”

There was almost… a pull for her to go inside. Part of her was very aware that this could very quickly turn into a horror movie scenario, like a serial killer lurking in the shadows, but the urge was strong. There was something inside of her that felt like she would be safe in the house. Before she knew what she was doing, her body made the decision for her, feet moving her to the house. It was very clearly abandoned, dirt and leaves and twigs decorating what was probably once a beautiful home. When she found herself in the basement, the feeling of not being safe returned. She needed to leave. What was that sound? It sounded like whispering and Ellie took that as her cue to bolt. The door slammed shut and she fell back in surprise as she screamed. “You’re safe here.” The voice was familiar, but somehow it was also unfamiliar. In the same way it came from everywhere and nowhere.

There were whispers, other unfamiliar voices, whispering to her all the same. “Who’s there?” She asked. The whispers whipped around her, just low enough that she couldn’t understand. She reached for the bracelet and uttered, “Emily?” Immediately, everything went quiet. It felt like someone had pressed paused during an intense movie scene. She couldn’t hear anything other than the sound of her own breathing and her heart hammering away in her chest. “Emily, is that you?”

“I am here.”

Her voice came from nowhere and Ellie couldn’t see anyone, but she was sure that it was Emily talking to her. “Why am I here?” She questioned.

“There’s something worrying you. What is it?” Emily replied.

“Elena.” She confessed. “She lied to Jenna about being with Bonnie and at school and she’s not answering me when I call her. I don’t know if something bad happened, but I don’t know if I’m strong enough to find her on my own.”

The whispers were quieter than before, but she could hear them. “You are strong enough, but you are stronger with us.” Emily assured her. “Family is important. We can help you find her.”

“We?”

“Those of our kind that die violently, our energy can remain there. We died here. We can make you stronger.” Emily told her. “Go ahead, search for your sister.” The candles that were scattered around the room shot to life at the command.

With a nod, Ellie pulled Elena’s bracelet from her bag and the small letter open she had and cut her palm. “ _ Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem. Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem. _ ” she could hear other voices chanting and in an instant her surroundings disappeared.

_ They were in a bar that Ellie had never seen before. The music was loud and a touch obnoxious and there was a crowd gathered around at the bar. A black woman was pouring shots for people gathered around, Elena included. She looked unharmed and definitely tipsy and nearly bouncing where she stood. “Ready… go!” The black woman said.  _

_ Everyone in the group downed a shot, Elena slamming her glass down onto the counter first. She did a little dance as she cheered, “That’s three! Do you need a bib?” She asked....  _ Damon _ teasingly. What the hell was she doing with Damon in a bar? _

_ “Sorry, I can’t unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol.” He replied. _

_ Elena just laughed at him. “Hmm whatever. All right. Who’s next?” She asked as she drummed her hands on the table. “Another round, Bree?” _

_ “Honey, you should be on the floor.” A blonde woman was telling Elena. _

_ “I am not even drunk.” She insisted. “My tolerance is like… waaaaay up here.” Elena said as she jumped up and held her hand up to show how high her tolerance was. _

_ “All right. Here you go.” Bree said as she handed them all another round. Elena was giggling as Damon spoke and Ellie was extremely conflicted with her feelings. She was relieved that Elena was fine, but she was furious at her as well. She could see Elena’s phone sticking out of her back pocket and if she’d spoken to Jenna then she must have seen all of Ellie’s missed calls and messages. How could she just not bother to at least text back? Her sister was grinning and laughing and obviously having a ball, but Ellie had spent the day terrified that she was dead in a ditch somewhere. _

_ Why on earth was she here with Damon of all people after she kept warning her and Bonnie and Caroline to stay as far away from him as possible? Did Stefan know? She watched Elena and the blonde woman head over to the pool table. As they played Elena was taunting the woman and joking around, completely fine. She took a shot, sinking it into the hole before shooting up and spinning around as she yelped, “Yeah!” Her phone started going off, the ringer being on somehow upsetting Ellie further. Elena seemed to snap out of her drunken haze at the sound, rushing towards the phone. “Hello? Jenna!” She cheered nervously, “Ah hold on, it’s loud in here.” She said as she grabbed her jacket. _

_ Ellie knew the look on her sister’s face. It was the expression Elena had when she was scared of getting busted, but Ellie couldn’t bring herself to feel bad for her sister. She’d scared Jenna to death.  _ “Elena, where are you? Are you ok?” _ She could just barely hear Jenna after she’d stepped closer to Elena  _

_ “Hmm? Yeah. No, I’m fine.” Elena assured her as she was pulling on her jacket. “Everything’s fine. Hold on, I can’t hear you.” _

Ellie jolted from her trance and looked around wildly, expecting to see Emily only to forget that she’d only heard the witch not seen. “Your sister is unharmed. That is good.” Emily’s voice told her.

“But why the hell is she with Damon?” Ellie asked with a huff as she pulled out a tissue to press into her hand.

“I’m sure that there is a reason for her to be in his company.” Emily replied softly. “You have my bracelet on your wrist. Might I inquire as to why?”

Ellie felt the heat in her cheeks rise. “I um, I asked Grams about trying to contact you. She said that this might work since the necklace wasn’t an option anymore after you destroyed it. She said your daughter Alice made it for you.”

“She did.” Emily confirmed. “Why did you wish to contact me?”

“You just seemed like this really powerful witch. I wanted to learn from you if I could.” Ellie confessed.

There was a humming sound before Emily replied, “Interesting. I’ve not had one of my descendants reach out to me before, even when it might have been wise. What do you wish to learn?”

“Whatever you think I should, I guess.”

It sounded like laughter, from the other witches but Ellie waited patiently for Emily’s response. “One aspect of the craft that I spent a great deal of time practicing was healing magic. Is that something that might interest you? It’s a tedious process and not easy to do on your own.” She explained.

“Yeah, that sounds really good.” Ellie agreed.

“Small wounds are always easiest, like performing small spells. Using power from the elements or other witches makes it easier, as I’m sure Sheila has already explained.” Emily said and Ellie made a hum of agreement. “I want you to repeat after me:  _ Phasmatos Sana Quod Sanguinem Vulnere _ .”

Ellie nodded and watched as the flames of the candles flickered wildly. “ _ Phasmatos Sana Quod Sanguinem Vulnere _ .” She gasped when she felt the skin of her palm stitching itself back together. When she could hear the soft chanting of the other witches, the skin seemed to heal faster and then she was staring at a perfectly smooth palm. There was absolutely no indication that she’d been cut at all, except for the bit of blood left on her palm. “Holy crap.”

“It will be something that will take some time for you to master, being here will make it easier for you. Some people are naturally more inclined to healing magic. I believe you have great potential.” Emily told her and the praise from a powerful witch from the 1860s was enough to make Ellie’s skin flush. “But, to practice healing spells like repairs cuts, there has to be an injury to fix. Are you willing to do that again?” Ellie hadn’t even thought about that. Was that something she was willing to do? Hurt herself for the sake of learning? Her mind drifted to Emily when she was alive. Did she hurt herself to learn? Or were the people she cared about getting hurt already? But she needed to learn. It was important to Ellie to be able to take care of the people she loved. So, with a wince, she dragged the letter opener across her palm once again. Even Ellie had to admit that Emily sounded a bit impressed. “Very good. Now do it again.”

So she did, the spell fell from her lips again and again as she ignored the pain in her palm. The witches were patient and kind, aiding her but not doing it for her. They whispered words of praise for her strength and determination as she slit her palm again and again. Then they would whisper words of comfort and reassurance when she was drained and panting. It was strange to be surrounded by people she couldn’t see, but feel so utterly safe at the same time. The witches would protect her, just like Emily promised.

She had no idea how much time passed as she practiced what Emily asked of her, but it left her more drained than anything Sheila had ever trained her to do. Somehow that also made it more satisfying for Ellie, like she’d accomplished something more impressive. As she laid on the dirty floor she let the whisper of the witches comfort her. When she felt strangely energized, she looked up at the ceiling. “What are you guys doing?”

“We have the ability to restore your strength. With healing magic comes a great deal of possibilities. It’s not just wounds and illnesses we can heal. When a person’s energy is drained we can restore it to them. With all of us together we can restore your energy. Just relax, Ellie.”

The young Gilbert nodded, and let the tension drain from her body. Once she felt alright and she felt the magic stop, she hummed to herself. If someone had told her a few months ago that she would find a kind of peace by lying in the middle of an abandoned, decaying house with a bunch of ghosts, she’d have said they were on drugs. Her peace was disrupted at the sound of her phone ringing. “Hello?”

_ “Ellie, where are you? I texted and you never responded to me.” _ Jenna sounded frustrated and concerned. Having Elena drop off the face of the earth unannounced was surely not good for their guardian’s sanity.

“You did? Jenna I am  _ so _ sorry, I didn’t hear my phone go off. I was in the old cemetery, at that old mausoleum thing or whatever it’s called.” Ellie told her. It wasn’t much of a lie, the mausoleum wasn’t very far from this house if she was remembering right.

Jenna’s sigh of relief was like a knife to the gut to Ellie. The last thing she’d wanted was to cause Jenna any more worry today.  _ “Ok, ok no you’re fine. I just… I called Elena and she answered and then she just stopped responding and then I couldn’t reach Jeremy at first and then you.” _ Jenna admitted.  _ “When are you coming home?” _

“I’ll come home now. Last I saw Jeremy was when I dropped him off at the library, so he probably turned his ringer off. Plus, he was talking to a cute girl so he was definitely distracted.” Ellie confessed.

_ “Ok, that’s actually a relief. If you get a hold of him, can you see when he plans on getting home?” _ Jenna asked.

“Yeah, I will.” Ellie promised. “I’ll call him now. Love you Jenna.”

_ “Love you, too.” _ Jenna replied before the call ended.

She didn’t hesitate before turning and calling Jeremy, he picked up on the third ring.  _ “Hello?” _

“Hey, Jer, where are you?” Ellie asked as she shuddered. Being outside in the middle of the woods, no longer in the safety of the witch ghost house was unsettling.

_ “At The Grill. Why? I just saw the calls and texts from Jenna. Is everything ok? I was about to call her.” _ Jeremy asked as Ellie slid into the safety of her car.

“Yeah, she just couldn’t get a hold of you so she was a little worried, but I told her that you were at the library with a pretty girl so you were probably just distracted. Is Anna still there?”

_ “No, she left like… a few minutes ago.”  _ Jeremy said.

“Ok, are you ready to go home? I’ll swing by The Grill and pick you up.” Ellie offered as she made her way out of the woods.

_ “Yeah, that would be great, thank you. Should I get us all something to eat? Jenna probably hasn’t eaten much today.” _

Ellie nodded her head in agreement even though he couldn’t see her. “Yeah, that’s probably a really good idea, Jer.” She said. “Did you have a good time with Anna?”

He scoffed at her but she grinned, he definitely thought Anna was cute.  _ “Yeah, yeah, I had a good time. But she thinks that what they wrote about the vampires and demons was literally vampires and demons. There’s no way.” _ He told her.  _ “She kind of suggested we have a fright night and watch a bunch of vampire movies.” _

At his confession, she cheered and asked, “So what did you say?”

_ “The truth, that I just got out of something and it might be too soon. I kinda feel like a jerk.” _

“You aren’t a jerk, Jeremy. Honestly, you did the right thing by giving her a heads up. But you can still have a fright night as friends.”

_ “Yeah, she said as friends, but then she left so…” _

“I’m sure you’ll see her again soon. She seems into you.” Ellie told him. “But I’m sure she’d still want to hang out with you even if it’s just as friends.”

_ “You think?” _

“Mmhmm, definitely.” She assured him. She waited quietly as Jeremy ordered before telling him that she would be there soon. Once the call ended, she was left with her thoughts. Training with the dead witches had been an interesting experience. Although she cut her hand countless times, the skin of her palm was flawless and there wasn’t even a hint of phantom pain. She was still unsure as to how she ended up at the house in the first place though. Had Emily influenced her? Taken control of her the way she had Bonnie? She lost herself in thought and before she knew it she was parked in front of The Grill.

Jeremy was sitting at one of the tables outside, bags of food carefully placed in front of him. Once he spotted Ellie, he grabbed the bags and got into the car, a bright grin on his face. “Hey, perfect timing. I just got our food.”

“Good. now let’s get home and maybe distract Jenna from worrying about Elena.” Ellie suggested.

“Where do you think she is?” Jeremy asked.

Ellie knew she was in a bar, given she had no clue where. “I have no clue but she better have one  _ hell _ of a reason for disappearing and then lying to Jenna.” Ellie told him. The frustration that Elena had disappeared with Damon of  _ all _ people was still royally pissing her off. 

“I just don’t get it. Elena’s never been that type.” Jeremy said as he fiddled with the bag handle.

“I don’t know either. She’s been acting really weird lately. Ever since school started really, but she won’t talk to me about it.” Ellie confessed.

“What? She tells you everything.”

“Not anymore.” Ellie told him. It was something that had been bothering her for a while now. The secrets Elena was clearly keeping. Then she felt like a hypocrite. How could she get upset at Elena for keeping secrets, whatever they may be, when she was lying to her and keeping the fact that she was an actual witch a secret as well? Did Elena feel the same way about Ellie? Could she tell Ellie was lying too? It was always different between Ellie and Elena than them with Jeremy when it came to lying. For them, it was practically impossible to keep a secret from their twin, and at least for Ellie, she  _ always _ knew when Elena was lying. Jeremy wasn’t as good at telling when they were lying, or when he was trying to lie.

“I’m sure she’ll be home soon.” Jeremy told her, trying to reassure his sister. She’d always been the worrier in their siblings. Elena was the most outgoing, Jeremy was the artsy one that got sucked into alcohol and drugs, and Ellie had been the mother hen that worried over everything. He remembered when he broke his arm diving off the dock of the lake house when he was six. She refused to leave his side for what felt like ages. Their dad constantly reminded her that he thought she’d make a fantastic doctor. “It’ll be ok, Ellie.” Ellie didn’t voice her concerns, opting to just nod at him instead, and the conversation fell into talking about his assignment and Anna as they drove home.

* * *

When morning came and Elena was still nowhere to be found, Ellie felt the worry eating away at her insides. Had Damon done something to her? She had looked to be having fun with Damon, but it’s not like serial killers can’t be charming. She sat next to Jenna on the couch as the blonde flipped through a magazine to try and distract herself. Honestly it was more like an anxious tick, the same way Ellie kept pulling at the stray pieces of thread on the blanket she was under.

They’d managed to convince Jeremy that it was fine for him to go ahead and go to the library, his extra credit assignment was insanely important. Ellie was sure part of Jenna’s insistence came from a place other than the desire for him to have good grades. It was the fear that at any moment they were going to get a call telling them something awful had happened to Elena. When the front door opened, Ellie and Jenna turned, there was no way Jeremy would be back that soon. So it must be Elena. “I don’t set a lot of rules, Elena. Not with you. I trust you to tell me the truth. Where were you? And why did you lie to me about it? I thought that we were closer than that.” Jenna didn’t wait for Elena to take more than two steps into the house before asking.

Ellie followed behind her as they approached Elena. However, Ellie couldn’t for the life of her understand what gave Elena the idea to get an attitude as she snapped back, “Now is not the time you want to talk to me about lies.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t turn this back on me. I didn’t do  _ anything _ .” Jenna said as Elena tried to walk off.

“Ok, question. Are Ellie and I adopted?” Elena asked and Ellie could feel the air rush out of her lungs as if she’d been hit. The wide eyed look of panic on Jenna’s face said  _ everything _ but Ellie was struggling to remember how to breathe. “I trust you to tell me the truth too, Jenna. How could you not tell me? I thought we were closer than that.”

Jenna turned as Elena rushed up the stairs. “Elena, I didn’t… they asked me not to.”

“I don’t want to hear it!”

Once Elena had rushed off, Jenna turned back to Ellie, who was dangerously pale. “Ellie, Ellie I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Jenna apologized. She was in tears, terrified of Ellie’s reaction. “Ellie please say something to me.”

“I need to sit down.” Ellie said shakily and Jenna reached out and helped her over to the couch.

“Ellie, I’m so so sorry. Please, I didn’t keep it from you guys to hurt you. Your parents asked me not to and then everything happened and it just slipped my mind and please I didn’t mean to hurt you guys.” The apologies kept pouring from Jenna but Ellie just reached out to hold her hand.

“It’s… I’m not mad at you Jenna. I just need a minute.” Ellie promised. How many times this year was her world going to get turned upside down?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting on the regular schedule, my computer was acting up. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please leave a comment and let me know what you all thought! Also we have now passed 1000 hits! Thank you so much to everyone who is reading and enjoying this story.
> 
> Posted 4/17/20


	12. Unpleasantville

**Chapter 12: Unpleasantville**

_ December 7, 2009 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ I’m… adopted. Elena just dropped the bomb on me when she was confronting Jenna about it. Jenna has been apologizing to me nonstop, but Elena just keeps avoiding her. But Elena also absolutely refuses to tell me where she learned about us being adopted. Won’t tell me who told her. It makes no sense. Elena and I got a hold of our birth certificates, and they both list Miranda and Grayson Gilbert as our birth parents. I just don’t know what’s going on anymore. _

Ellie made her way to Mr. Saltzman’s classroom with haste once the bell had rang. Jeremy was supposed to be getting his grade for his extra credit assignment. Luckily, she was only a few classrooms down and stepped through the door right as Mr. Saltzman tossed a paper down on Jeremy’s desk. When Jeremy’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, Ellie felt herself get excited as she leaned over to look at the essay. At the top left corner of the page was a big red ‘A’ that was circled. “Surprised? It’s a good essay.” Mr. Saltzman praised as Ellie excitedly bumped shoulders with Jeremy. “Your thoughts are clear, and your argument is well laid out. It’s just… you don’t actually think there are vampires in Mystic Falls.”

“No. I mean, I think statistically there’s been more animal attacks, mysterious deaths, uh people gone missing, more than any other place in the whole commonwealth of Virginia.” Jeremy explained and Ellie took note of the fond look Mr. Saltzman gave Jeremy.

“It’s conjecture.” Mr. Saltzman said. “But creative, which is why you got the ‘A’. I just wouldn't get too, uh, caught up in the whole conspiracy theory of it all.”

“Ah, I won’t.” Jeremy assured him as he stood from his seat and the siblings moved to leave.

“Oh, uh, Jeremy, the source that you cited for the 1860s info, uh Jonathan Gilbert…”

“Oh, our ancestor’s journal?” Jeremy asked.

“I’d really like to see that some time.”

“Really?”

“A first person account of the Civil War? That’s like, uh, porn for a history teacher.” Mr. Saltzman joked as Jeremy turned to set his bag on the table before rummaging around in it.

“You think my essay’s creative, wait till you get a load of this thing.”

Once Jeremy dropped the journal onto Mr. Saltzman's desk, the older man picked it up with a smile and said, “Thank you.”

“Congratulations, Jer!” Ellie cheered as she looped her arm through his and gave him a squeeze. “I’m really proud of you! Oh Jenna is gonna be so excited! We should hang it up on the fridge!” She said with an excited gasp. “Oh my god we should get it framed!”

He shoved her away with a scoff. “Shut up you weirdo.”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible my darling brother. I’m quite proud of you and I must tell the world.” She told him with an over dramatic hand gesture. “But really, Jer. I’m very proud of you.”

“Thanks. But can you take the crazy elsewhere? I need to go turn in an assignment for art. He let me have a little bit more time since I was doing the work for Mr. Saltzman.” 

“I see. You’re embarrassed by me. I understand. I’ll disappear.” She told him with a sniffle. “Farewell dear brother.” Jeremy just rolled his eyes at her as they walked away from one another. A moment later, she walked into Elena and Caroline. “Hello my other half.” She greeted. “Hello Elena.” Caroline laughed at Elena’s face before looking her arm through Ellie’s.

“Hi to you too, Ellie.” Elena replied. “Oh! That reminds me. I have something for the two of you.” The trio stopped as Elena pulled out two necklaces from a small bag. “For you, Caroline.” She said as she handed the blonde one. “And for you, Ellie.” Once both girls managed to put their necklaces on, Elena smiled.

“It’s so pretty. Thank you.” Caroline said softly. “God, and it’ll go with like everything. What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion, just a little friend gift.” Elena replied as the found a table to sit at. 

“Lesbian friend necklace?” Caroline asked teasingly. “Cause we’re freaky like that?”

Ellie scoffed. “Pass on the twincest. No offense, Elena. You’re gorgeous and all but no thanks.” Ellie said and the girls laughed.

“Did you just compliment yourself by complimenting her?” Caroline questioned.

“Am I wrong?”

“Nope.” Elena agreed. “But, your friendship is important to me, Caroline. So is Ellie’s.”

“Why are you being so mushy?” Caroline asked.

“Because you’ve been avoiding me, and I wanted you to know that whatever is going on with you and Matt, it’s ok.” Elena admitted.

Caroline went wide eyed in panic. “I was gonna talk to you about that. I was, but there’s just not much to say. We’ve hung out a couple times. That’s it, but… I just feel like we’ve peaked as friends. This is weird. I shouldn’t be talking to you about this. It’s weird. It’s weird, right?”

“It’s a little weird, but if it’s what you and Matt want, then it’s not about me.”

“But it’s all about you.” Caroline told her. “Matt’s not over you, and we all know it.”

“I’m with Stefan now. Matt understands that. He knows he has to move on.” Elena replied. When there was an awkward silence, Elena turned her focus onto Ellie. “As for you, Ellie. The necklace is also an apology. I shouldn’t have dropped a bomb on you like that just because I was mad at Jenna. I’m really sorry.”

“Wait, what happened?” Caroline asked. It was pretty rare for Elena and Ellie to have serious fights or for one of them to do something that really upset the other.

Ellie looked over to Elena, she didn’t mind telling Caroline that they were adopted, but Elena might. A moment of silent communication passed before Elena nodded subtly and Ellie turned to Caroline and confessed. “Elena and I are adopted.”

“You’re what?!” Caroline shouted and the twins hushed her in a panic. “Oh my god I’m so sorry.” She apologized when she noticed the stares focused on them. “You guys are what?”

“We’re adopted. We just found out a few days ago. And before you ask, we have no idea who our biological parents are.” Ellie explained.

Elena might not have seen, but Ellie felt Caroline slip her hand into Ellie’s holding on tightly. “That’s insane. How did you find out?” Caroline asked softly.

“Well, Elena kind of dropped the bomb on me but refuses to tell me how she found out, hence the apology necklace.” Ellie said.

“It doesn’t matter how I found out. What matters is that Jenna was lying to us.” Elena replied.

“Elena, she wasn’t lying to us. Lying involves us asking her about it and her denying it. It never came up. She’s felt awful about it and it doesn’t help that you’re ignoring her.” Ellie told her. “Besides, you threw that in her face after skipping school and lying about where you were and she was in the middle of getting on to you.” The fact that she was with Damon still burned in the back of her mind but she tried to push it away. “God ok, all of this made me completely forget the good news I had.”

If Ellie’s desperate attempt to change the subject was obvious, neither girl protested it. “What good news?” Elena asked.

“Our darling baby brother got an ‘A’ on his extra credit history assignment.” Ellie informed her.

“What?! Really?” Elena asked. She never thought he’d do badly, but she never thought he’d do so well either.

“Mmhmm, it was creative and well thought out, so says Mr. Saltzman. Jeremy also let Mr. Saltzman borrow Jonathan GIlbert’s journal. He told us a first person account of the Civil War was like ‘porn for a history teacher’.” Ellie told them, causing the girls to burst into laughter. “Yeah that’s how I felt about it.” She joked, relieved that the tension had lessened.

* * *

After school, Ellie found herself at The Grill with Elena and Bonnie, going through the same process of explaining to their friend that they weren’t biologically the children of Miranda and Grayson Gilbert. “I can’t believe the two of you are adopted.” Bonnie told them. “I never saw that coming.”

“And it gets weirder. We looked at our birth certificates. They both list Miranda and Grayson Gilbert as our birth parents. There are no adoption records. None of it makes any sense.” Elena explained.

“Which is why you should ask Jenna.” Bonnie told her.

“That is exactly what I’ve been saying.” Ellie replied to which Elena just groaned. “And that is the exact reaction she’s been giving me”

Bonnie focused back on Elena. “First of all, the Elena I know would always want the real truth, good or bad.”

“And second of all?” Elena asked sarcastically.

“You just found out that your boyfriend…” Bonnie cut off suddenly and gave Ellie a look like she just remembered she was there. “You just found out your boyfriend has some serious history and that I’m a witch. So unless your parents are aliens, how bad could it be?”

“Ah…. ok, look, I have to go to the store. My outfit for the dance is  _ severely _ lacking accessories.” Elena said as the twins rose from their seats.

“Ok. I’ll pay the bill.” Bonnie replied.

“Ok, bye.”

“Bye.”

“Well, at least now Caroline and Bonnie know.” Ellie said. “But we really should ask Jenna.”

“Yeah, I know but…” Elena’s voice trailed off as her phone started ringing. She dug it out of her bag and answered it without looking. “Hello?” After the person replied she said, “Hey, who is this?” Whatever they said set Elena on edge, pausing from digging around with her keys to looking up slowly.

“Elena… what is it?” Ellie questioned as Elena locked on to something behind them. 

“Ellie get in the car.  _ Now! _ ” Elena sounded terrified, enough so that the moment the door was unlocked Ellie slung her door open before slamming it shut. They sped out of the parking lot and onto the road.

“Elena what the hell was that? What happened?” Ellie asked frantically as her sister sped down the road frantically. “ _ Elena _ ! What happened?”

Her sister’s hands were twitching against the steering wheel. “There was someone watching us. He called me and he was watching us.” Elena confessed. She knew she was too shaken up to dismiss her sister’s concern. “I don’t… I don’t know maybe it was just some dumbass prank call but whoever it was freaked me the hell out.” They were still speeding down the road at Elena’s confession. She seemed to realize just how fast she was driving them and slowed down considerably. “I’m sorry. I just got spooked is all. Let’s just… get to the store and get what we need and then go home.”

“Elena…” Ellie pressed gently. “A prank call shouldn’t have scared you that badly. What is it?”

She could practically see Elena’s walls going up as her sister shook her head. “Really, Ellie, it’s nothing. Just me being a scaredy cat.” Ellie felt like she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, she knew Elena wasn’t going to tell her anything. On the other hand, Elena had looked like the boogeyman was going to snatch them both at any second. The best option would be to wait for a better time to try and get it out of her. When Elena was scared enough, her determination was insanely impressive.

They rode in silence to the store, Ellie keeping quiet about the way Elena kept looking over her shoulder like something was going to jump out at her. When they finally made it to the store, Elena parked under the most well lit spot that was closest to the entrance. “Ok, come on.” Ellie said and made sure to walk closely next to Elena to try and calm her sister’s nerves. “So, what do you need?”

“Um just a couple things… let’s go.” Elena said, unable to stop herself from looking over her shoulder as the automatic doors opened behind them, only to be opening for an old woman who looked about as dangerous as a snail. “I’m fine. It’s fine.” Elena reassured her worried sister.

* * *

Ellie stood with Caroline and Matt at one of the outside tables as they painted a sign for the dance, She had been roped into coming into school  _ far  _ too early to assist the blonde in last minute finishing touches. As they painted, Matt grinned at Caroline. “I’ve never seen you such a mess.” He teased.

Caroline scoffed and swiped her paintbrush down his arm in retaliation. “Don’t talk smack!” She told him before he raised his paintbrush up in a faux threat.

“I  _ mean _ , I just thought that you told everyone else what to do.” Matt informed her.

“Well, I do that too, but if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.” Caroline explained. “You know, I just like that we’re hanging out. Who knew? You and me.”

“Well, who knew you could be fun?” Matt teased. Ellie would have said that she knew Caroline was fun, but that would have potentially broken the moment of Caroline and Matt’s precious flirting so she kept quiet. Painting, and hoping to remain unnoticed. 

“So what are you wearing to this dumb dance, anyway? Should we color coordinate?” Caroline questioned. Her voice softening at the end from her hesitation.

“Uh… I’m not goin’.” Matt confessed.

“Why not?”

“I gotta work. Bussin’ tables at The Grill.” Matt admitted.

“Since when are you a busboy?” Caroline asked.

The look on Matt’s face made Ellie wince. “It’s a job. You know, some of us have to work, Caroline.” He told her. “With my mom in and out, things are tight, so…”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Caroline insisted. “I just meant that I didn’t know that you had a job.”

“Well, I do.” He retorted. “I gotta go.”

“I really didn’t mean it like that.” Caroline groaned after Matt was gone.

“I know, Care. But it’s a sensitive subject for him. Money especially and his mom even more so. Just give him a bit to cool off and try to talk to him later." Caroline just nodded sadly and went back to painting,

The day seemed to drag by, not even the energy of the students excited to go to the dance could make it pass any faster. After hours and hours of watching the ticking of the clock, enough time had finally passed for Ellie to be at home getting ready for the dance. She could see that Jenna was already dressed and ready to go as Elena tried to pass their aunt without saying a word. “Spoke to the insurance company.” Jenna called. “Car’s totaled. You can keep using mine for now.”

“So you’re coming to the dance?” Elena questioned.

“Alaric asked me to help chaperone.” Jenna replied and Ellie grinned at the blonde, despite the tension.

“Why didn’t you tell us, Jenna?” Elena asked as she turned to face her aunt.

“Your mom was gonna do it eventually. I never thought I’d have to.” Jenna said.

“If our mom were here right now and I asked, she’d tell us the truth.” Elena said and when Jenna looked both uncomfortable and upset, Ellie tried to put herself in the blonde’s shoes. If Elena died and Ellie was left to take care of her kids and they were asking questions, throwing what Elena would have done in her face, she wasn’t so sure she’d react as calmly as Jenna was. It seemed awfully unfair to act like they knew more about their mom or the situation.

When Jenna spoke, her voice was soft, lost in memories. “Your dad was about to leave the office one night when this girl showed up. She was sixteen, a runaway, and about to give birth. He delivered her babies, two beautiful, healthy girls, and he gave her a place to stay. But a few days later, she disappeared. And there the two of you were. Your parents were trying so hard to have a baby. I-it just wasn’t happening. All Miranda ever wanted was to be a mom. And like a miracle they suddenly had not one but two babies to love.”

“Well, why were my parents’ names on the birth certificates?” Elena asked.

“Your dad was a doctor, Elena. He took care of it. They didn’t want to lose either of you, so they kept it quiet, told as few people as possible, but if anyone ever wanted proof they had documentation.” Jenna confessed.

“What else do you know about her?” Ellie asked. “The girl.”

“Just her name. Isobel.” Jenna replied. “But that’s all I know, Elena. And I have to get going. I’ll see you two at the dance.”

Once Jenna had gone, the girls moved upstairs to start getting dressed. Eventually, Elena broke the silence by asking, “Do you think I’m being too hard on Jenna?”

Ellie set down the blush she was holding to face her sister. “I think that you’re still dealing with the fact that biologically we aren’t mom and dad’s. But yeah, I think you’re being a bit too hard on her. We lost our mom, Elena and it sucks ass, but she lost her sister. I literally can’t even imagine my life without you in it for like a week. Mom and Dad shouldn’t have died so soon but they did and with it came a shit ton of responsibilities for Jenna. It probably didn’t even cross her mind Elena. So yeah, maybe ease up a bit?”

The rest of the time they spent getting dressed together went peacefully until Ellie left to go to her room to put on her outfit. She turned up her music as she pulled off her clothes to switch into her fifties clothes. Out of nowhere, what sounded like Elena’s scream rang through the music. “Elena? Elena!” Ellie shouted as she flung her door open and ran down the stairs. She found her sister in the arms of Stefan, shivering and shaken. “What the hell happened? Elena are you ok?”

Stefan looked over Ellie frantically, as if he were worried she’d been hurt somehow. “Ellie are you ok?” He asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. What the hell happened?” Ellie replied.

“Someone was outside the window.” Elena told her. “I don’t know, I might have been seeing something else but I could have sworn someone was outside the window and it scared the hell out of me.”

Something about it seemed off, but Ellie supposed it could be blamed on how frightened Elena was. “Um, Ellie, I’ll stay here with Elena until she’s finished getting ready and I’ll make sure the house is secure. Why don’t I walk you to your car so that you can get to Caroline? I’m sure she’ll be waiting on you.” Stefan’s suggestion didn’t really seem like a suggestion, but Elena was nodding supportively, obviously wanting Ellie to go.

“I… ok, but if anything else weird happens Elena you call me ok?” Ellie said. “I’m serious.”

“I will, I promise. But I’m safe with Stefan.” She assured her twin. “Really, go ahead. Caroline will freak if you’re late.”

With much reluctance, Ellie allowed Stefan to walk her to her car. “Don’t let anything happen to her, Stefan. Someone called her yesterday and scared the crap out of her.” Ellie warned.

“I know. She told me. Ellie I swear on my life that I will do everything I can to keep Elena safe.” He said sincerely. The seriousness in which he said it was almost startling, but Ellie just nodded at him gratefully. “We’ll see you at the dance shortly, Ellie.”

She nodded before pulling out of the drive and heading for the school. If someone was stalking Elena, would it be breaking the witch code of conduct or whatever it was to use magic to protect her? It just seemed odd for Elena to scream like that just from maybe seeing a face in the window. Everything with Elena lately had just been so bizarre. It wasn’t long before Ellie was pulling into a parking spot beside Bonnie’s car where Caroline, who looked fantastic, was waiting. “Hello, my beautiful date.” Ellie greeted as she got out of the car.

“You look amazing, Ellie.” Caroline praised. After Matt revealed he wasn’t going, Ellie swooped in to go with Caroline to get the girl out of her sour mood.

“Same to you Miss Forbes.” Ellie laughed. The moment they walked into the dance, her jaw dropped. Everything had turned out spectacularly and the place was filled. “Care, this looks amazing.”

“If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.” Caroline reminded her right before Bonnie came rushing up to them. “Come on, Bonnie’s already inside.”

“Oh my god, Ellie you look great!” Bonnie exclaimed. “Come on, we gotta take pictures. I brought my camera.” Bonnie dragged the girls over to where a fifties themed photo station had been set up. Someone had even gone through the trouble of getting an old retro diner booth. 

“Hey Tyler!” Ellie called, just loud enough for the Lockwood to hear. “Come take our pictures!” The boy came to them at her summons and willingly took the camera from Bonnie. The trio sat on the edge of the table, arms wrapped tightly around one another and smiling brightly. They goofed around, taking silly pictures. They even managed to rope Tyler into getting into the photos.

“Wait! I love this song! Come on, let’s dance!” Caroline called and the camera was stashed away in Bonnie’s bag before she put it in her locker and the four of them went to the dance floor. Ellie wasn’t sure how long they’d danced, but eventually Caroline got her attention and Bonnie’s. “Let’s get some punch, I’m thirsty.”

They nodded as Bonnie said, “I could use something to drink too.” The girls slid through the crowd and got a couple things of punch. “Hey, is that Elena?” Ellie turned immediately at the mention of her sister and sure enough there was Elena standing by herself. As they approached Elena was playing with her earring nervously.

She smiled at the three of them, though to Ellie it seemed a touch forced as her sister asked. “Having fun?”

“Mmm, no, but this took about two hours so I’m at least staying half of that.” Caroline told her, gesturing to her outfit before Ellie bumped hips with her.

“What’s Damon doing here?” Bonnie asked and following her line of sight, Ellie saw Damon standing next to Stefan looking around.

“He wanted to come.” Elena said. “I promise, he’ll behave.”

“So what is this, like, a threesome now? You and the Salvatore brothers?” Caroline sassed.

“No, but if I’m gonna be with Stefan, then I have to learn to tolerate Damon. It’s not like I can kill him.” Elena said.

“There’s a thought.” Bonnie said.

“Mm, I’ll help.” Caroline replied.

“I’m in too. Just let me know when, Bon.” Ellie added as the three of them clinked drinks. Elena just grinned at them. “But, Elena, I have to ask. You have repeatedly warned us to stay as far away from Damon as we can get so you aren’t listening to your own advice why?”

Caroline and Bonnie both eyed the younger twin, waiting for her response. “I told you, if I’m with Stefan I have to learn to tolerate him.” 

“Not really. You could just avoid him, tell him to go to hell. For you know, hurting Caroline, scaring the crap out of Bonnie and harassing her, being an all around dick.” Ellie trailed off with a wave of her hand. “Hey, Bon! You’re a witch, just set him on fire maybe? I’ll help you hide the body.”

“Ellie!” Elena hissed.

“That’s not a bad idea.” Bonnie said thoughtfully.

“Oh, I know a few tricks to keep the body from being found. I’ve learned a thing or two from being the daughter of a sheriff.” Caroline added.

“You guys are crazy.” Elena laughed. She turned around and frowned before scanning the crowd. “I’ll see you guys in a bit. I want to see if I can rope Stefan into dancing.”

Elena was gone before the three of them could say anything else. “Is it just me, or is Elena acting weird?” Bonnie asked as they moved to stand at one of the round tables.

“Definitely not just you.” Ellie confirmed. “She was with Stefan before I left because she thought she saw someone outside the house so she was acting really weird.”

“Oh my god. Someone was outside your house?” Caroline asked worriedly. “Do I need to tell my mom?”

“It might have just been a prank, but I’ll let you know, Care, thanks.” Ellie said sincerely. 

Caroline shifted uncomfortably just before a voice called, “Hi, Bonnie. Wanna dance?”

“I’m out of here.” Bonnie said.

When she tried to leave, Damon moved to block her path. “Please give me another chance.”

“You have two seconds to move before you get a drink thrown in your face dick.” Ellie warned. The older Salvatore looked over at her, and Bonnie walked off before he had another chance to stop her.

Before they went with Bonnie, Caroline warned him, “Back off, Damon.” The three of them walked off, leaving Damon behind. “I cannot believe the audacity he has. Coming here and harassing Bonnie.”

“God, ok this dance is ruined for me. You guys wanna go get something to eat instead?” Bonnie suggested.

“Um the answer to food is always yes, Bon.” Ellie reminded her as they walked out of the school and into the parking lot.

“Let’s sit up there.” Bonnie said as they walked into The Grill. It was just a stroke of luck on Bonnie’s part that that hot guy Ben was working at the bar. 

“Be a little more obvious, Bonnie.” Caroline sassed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Don’t rain on my hot guy parade.” Bonnie replied.

“What? It’s just a little drizzle. Ben Mckittrick? Really?” Caroline asked.

“He’s hot.”

“He’s a washed up jock who pours drinks for a living.” Caroline corrected. “You could do way better.”

“Damn, Care. Harsh much?” Ellie asked.

Caroline ignored her in favor of Matt walking by. “Hey.” She greeted cheerfully.

“What’s up?” Matt said in passing, not even looking back.

“Ouch. That was icy.” Ellie said sympathetically as Caroline watched Matt go. “Come on, let’s go get a table.” She led the blonde by the arm over to one of the tables and sat down.

They ordered their drinks and after they arrived, Caroline sat with her chin in her hand looking rejected. “Tonight was so much better on paper.” The blonde said pitifully.

“Ah, you’re just feeling sorry for yourself.” Bonnie told her. “Go and talk to him. Be bold and fearless.”

“Yeah, this coming from the girl who’s been eye stalking the bartender.” Caroline replied.

“You’re right.” Bonnie admitted.

Without another word, Bonnie rose from her seat and strode to the bar. “Oh my god is she actually doing it?” Ellie asked as she and Caroline straightened up in their seats.

“Oh my god I think she is.” Caroline replied. They watched in silence as Ben leaned forward to rest his arms on the countertop, grinning at Bonnie. Caroline sat back in a huff, no longer able to use Bonnie as an excuse. It was then that Matt walked by without a word and Caroline asked, “Seriously?”

“Is that for me?” Matt asked sarcastically.

“Does it look like I’m talking to anyone else in the vicinity?”

“Do you need something?” Matt asked.

“Are you mad at me or something?”

“No, Care. I’m not mad. I…”

“Well, then why are you being so weird?” Caroline questioned as Ellie tried to make herself invisible so that she didn’t disturb the conversation that almost seemed like an argument.

“I’m not. I’m working.”

“You’re avoiding.”

“No. I have a table to clean.” Matt corrected. “You know, that’s the kind of thing that washed up jocks do to make a living.” As he walked off, realization washed over both girls. He’d overheard her comment about Ben and taken it personally. Caroline groaned in frustration.

“You know if you want to fix it then you’re gonna have to talk to him and apologize.” Ellie offered softly.

“Yeah, I know.” Caroline confessed before getting up and walking over to where Matt was clearing a table. Ellie discreetly moved closer to hear what they were saying. “Look, I said something stupid. I’m sorry. But I wasn’t even talking about you.”

“Yes, you were, Caroline.” Matt told her. “Ben could easily be me. We’re just alike.” 

“That’s not true.” Caroline said. “Are you seriously mad about this? Look, Matt you know me. Ok, I say stupid things without thinking, and then I have to apologize and take it back, and I’m a terrible awful person, but I’m working on it.”

“Look, can we just not do this right now?” Matt asked.

“Ok.” She agreed. “When do you get off?”

“Look, this thing we’ve got, it’s nice, and it feels really good, and I know you wanna take the next step.” Matt started.

“How do you know that? Have you even asked me?” Caroline interrupted.

Matt floundered for a response. “I’m… I’m not over Elena.” He told her. “I don’t, I mean, I don’t know if I am, but if we go there, then it could mess up, and we might lose this. And this is the only good thing I’ve got going for me right now. So if it doesn’t work, I’ll just disappoint you and hurt you, and I don’t wanna do that.”

Caroline just shook her head. “Well, big problem, Matt. because you took the next step all by yourself, and you played the whole thing out in your head, and you decided to bail before even giving it a shot. So this really great thing that we have, don’t worry about losing it. ‘Cause it’s already gone.” She turned and walked off and Ellie stood to follow her. “I love you, Ellie, but don’t. I just really wanna be alone right now.”

Ellie watched helplessly as her best friend walked out of The Grill. “Matt.” She nearly whined. “Matt, you know she really likes you.”

The boy looked conflicted for a moment, and then strangely determined. “Ok.” He said as he put away his thing of dirty dishes and towel before coming back out with his keys and his jacket.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“I’m fixing this.” He told her. “Thanks, Ellie.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek before walking out the door.

Not long after both Matt and Caroline had left, Bonnie practically skipped over to where Ellie was sitting at their table. “Where’s Care?” She asked as she sat down.

“I’m assuming she’s with Matt by now. I think they’re about to step into dating territory.” Ellie said excitedly. “So… how did it go with Ben?” She sang.

“Be quiet!” Bonnie scolded but she couldn’t help the silly grin she had. “Ok, so maybe we’re going on a date.”

Ellie squealed quietly as Bonnie shushed her again. “Oh my god that’s amazing! Caroline is gonna be so excited.” Ellie informed her. “Oh damn, I should probably get home. Can you give me a ride? My car’s at the school.”

“Yeah, of course.” Bonnie agreed. The ride home was filled with laughter and excitement over Bonnie’s upcoming date and Caroline and Matt’s blooming relationship.

With a smile, Ellie waved her friend goodbye. As she turned back to face her house, she could hear the memory of Elena’s scream rushed back to the forefront of her mind and she hastily went inside. Her worries eased at the sight of Elena sleeping peacefully in the arms of Stefan on the couch. “Hey.” Ellie greeted softly as to not wake Elena.

“Hey.” Stefan replied. “I didn’t really see you at the dance.”

“Bailed with Caroline and Bonnie after having to be in the presence of your douchebag brother, no offense.” Ellie told him.

Stefan laughed quietly and nodded. “That’s understandable. Hope he didn’t ruin your night.”

“No, I think it turned out pretty good, actually. Did you guys ever find the creep that was outside?” She asked.

“Yeah, actually. Just some punk messing around. Everything will be fine.” Stefan assured her.

“That’s good. Well, I think I’m gonna get to bed. Goodnight Stefan.”

“Goodnight, Ellie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Please leave a comment and let me know what you guys thought or if you have any questions or things you'd like to see. Also, Happy Ramadan to those of you that celebrate it!
> 
> Posted 4/24/20


	13. Children of the Damned

**Chapter 13: Children of the Damned**

_ December 11, 2009 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ The dance went amazing. Well, amazing as it could have been for hardly being there at all. Caroline, Bonnie, and I left after Damon was, well, Damon. But we went to The Grill and Bonnie got a date and I’m pretty sure Caroline scored herself a boyfriend in Matt. So maybe things are looking up! If I’m lucky, I’ll manage to get Mr. Saltzman and Jenna together. _

Jeremy and Ellie walked down and into the kitchen, finding Elena and Stefan digging through some old boxes. Ellie could almost make out what they were saying before they entered. “What are you guys doing?” Jeremy asked curiously.

“Hey, just going through some stuff, feeling sentimental. Dad had this old family journal from years ago. I thought I’d dig it up.” Elena told them.

“Jonathan Gilbert’s journal?” Ellie asked.

“Yeah. What do you know about it?” Elena questioned.

“I just did a history report on it.” Jeremy explained.

“Oh, uh, so where is it now?”

“I gave it to Mr. Saltzman. He wanted to see it.” Jeremy said.

“Elena, I told you about that. Don’t you remember?” Ellie asked.

“Oh. Yeah, I completely forgot about it. My bad.” Elena said, waving it off with her hand.

“Ok, weirdos. I am going over to Bonnie’s so, I don’t know, behave.” Ellie said as she slid off the counter. “Or I will be forced to ground you.” She added with an affirmative nod. Her siblings just scoffed, but said their goodbyes before she exited the house. Bonnie had asked Ellie to come over and help her get ready for her date with Ben. She was so nervous that she was afraid that she would mess something up. When she arrived at the Bennett household, Bonnie greeted her at the door. “I’ve come to your rescue.”

“Thank  _ god _ . I am so stressed out. I have literally no idea what to wear. Or how to do my makeup. Or how to do my hair.” Bonnie said in a rush, pulling the other girl inside and to her room. “Like how dressed up do I need to be?”

“You guys are doing karaoke right?” Ellie asked. When Bonnie nodded, Ellie continued. “Ok, so that’s a pretty casual date. I’m going to assume karaoke and then The Grill, so you don’t want to be too dressed up. Plus, it’s gonna be cold as hell tonight. Clothes first, hair and makeup second.” Ellie told her.

Bonnie turned on the radio and the girls hummed along as Bonnie searched through her closet for an outfit. “Hmm… how about this?” Bonnie asked as she pulled out a red sweater to show.

Ellie tilted her head as she considered it and then shook her head in rejection. “No, something less bright would probably be better.” Ellie suggested. “Plus, you might get hot and want to be able to take something off. Wearing a sweater does you no good in that department.”

“Ok, you pick.” Bonnie said as she took Ellie’s place on the bed and Ellie went to the closet. She rummaged through all of Bonnie’s summer tops and bright colors, going farther back into the closet before pulling out a simple grey V-neck shirt and hanging it on the closet door. Going back even farther, she found a warm plum colored jacket and pulled it out as well.

“All right, Bon Bon, what do you think of this and this?” She asked as she held up the items for inspection. “I figured the jacket would be enough to keep you warm outside without smothering you inside.”

“I like it.” Bonnie agreed. “Ok, what about pants?” Ellie dove back into the closet until she found the pair of jeans she was looking for.

“These jeans make you look like a goddess.” Ellie told her, pushing them towards her friend. “Trust me. They make your ass look fantastic.” Ellie explained.

Bonnie laughed at the comment and nodded, setting the outfit on the bed. “Ok, hair and makeup?”

“Um… curls and light makeup?” Ellie suggested. Bonnie agreed gratefully, too nervous to get ready alone. They couldn’t help the laughter and excitement as they got her ready. It was nice to Ellie, to be able to forget about the fact that they were witches, even if Bonnie didn’t know that Ellie was one. To forget that she was learning magic from a witch that had died over a hundred years ago or that she wore the bracelet of that same witch. It was nice to forget that Elena had been acting odd for ages. It was nice to get to ignore the way her sister had been so hot and cold about Damon Salvatore that it was enough to give her whiplash. By the time Bonnie was ready, they still had a good bit of time before she was supposed to go meet Ben at the karaoke place. “Do you want me to hang out here?”

Bonnie looked contemplative before shaking her head. “I actually think I’m gonna go and drive for a bit to try and clear my head. But really, thank you for helping me out. I’ll let you know when I get there and I’ll try and keep you updated.” Ellie nodded and hugged her friend tightly before going out the door and back to her car. Ellie pulled out from the drive and took the familiar path, almost on autopilot. It didn’t take long before she parked in the driveway. The door opened as she approached, Sheila giving her a warm smile.

“Hello, Ellie, come on inside.” Sheila led her inside and they headed for the kitchen in the familiar routine of making their tea. “Did you contact Emily?” Sheila asked as they sat on the couch.

“I did, actually. She’s willing to teach me what she knows.” Ellie confirmed and beamed at Sheila’s proud nod. “Am I learning something new today?”

“Any time you wish to learn, I would never say no.” Sheila assured her. “I’ve showed you how to control fire, so let me show you how to use ice.” Ellie waited as Sheila went into the kitchen before the older woman returned with a small plastic cup of water. “Ice, you can use it for many things, the same way fire has several uses. You can use fire to keep warm or to cook. You can use it to light candles and draw strength from the flames. You can use it as a weapon. With ice, you can use it to keep something cold. You could use it to ice over water to walk over it. You can use it like water to channel it’s power. You can also use ice as a weapon.”

“How can you use ice as a weapon?” Ellie asked curiously.

“Say you’re in danger, you’re being chased. Freeze ice across the floor, make them fall so you can keep running. No one is going to look for an icy patch if the weather isn’t normally calling for it. Or something encased in ice. Everything will freeze eventually. If it’s thick enough it can make it hard to escape. Now watch.  _ Glace, Solidatur. Glace, Solidatur. _ ” Sheila chanted and Ellie watched in fascination as the water turned to ice.

Throughout the time that Ellie had spent learning from Sheila, and now Emily, she’d gotten quicker at picking up the spells she was being taught. She watched as the ice turned back to water before nodding and repeated the words confidently. “ _ Glace, Solidatur. Glace, Solidatur. _ ” With ease the water solidified. Like with everything she was taught, Ellie did it repeatedly, but to her surprise, it didn’t exhaust her the way Emily’s training did.

When Sheila was satisfied, they took a pause from the spellwork and Sheila asked, “So tell me Ellie, how did you manage to contact Emily?”

“Honestly, I’m not quite sure. I was driving and then I ended up at this house I’ve never been to before. That looked freaking creepy might I add. And like every dumb girl in every scary movie ever, I went inside. Ended up with Emily and a bunch of like dead witches, I guess. Wanted me to focus on healing spells. Do you know how much it sucks to cut your palm like a bajillion times?” Ellie said with a bit of a huff.

Sheila just smiled at her. “With practice can come pain, but who knows, maybe one day it’ll save your life.” Ellie nodded, as much as she liked to complain about the pain she felt from repeatedly injuring herself for the sake of learning, she knew it would be worth it. Besides, Emily and the other witches made sure that Ellie was fine, keeping up her energy and making sure all her wounds were perfectly healed. “I’m very proud of you, you know that right?” Sheila told her softly.

Ellie could feel the rush of heat on her cheeks at the praise. “I know. I’m just lucky to have such a good teacher.” She replied and Sheila gave her a fond smile.

“Most people, if they were thrown into this situation like you, probably wouldn’t handle it so well. It’s quite impressive to see you adapt so well. You are stronger than you know.” Sheila told her. “Now, come on, I want to give you some things.” Ellie stood and followed the older woman up into the attic, which was surprisingly nothing like a normal creepy attic. The candles that were placed carefully around the room flared to life as they walked in. Whether it was Sheila’s doing or Ellie’s, she had no clue. Honestly it kind of reminded her of the attic from Charmed, just a bit.

There were bookcases absolutely teeming with unfamiliar spines. Some shelves filled up with clear glass jars with labels too faint to read from where she stood. In Ellie’s opinion, if she added a smokey cauldron, it would be a stereotypical witch’s room. “What is all this?” Ellie questioned as she drifted over to a book and removed it from the shelf carefully. Flipping it open randomly showed a spell, written carefully and neatly. The handwriting was far too nice to be even remotely recent, the frayed edges of the page adding to it.

“They’re grimoires.” Sheila said.

Ellie’s eyes went wide in surprise. “There’s dozens and dozens! How did you get this many? Why do you have them?” She asked, carefully flicking through the pages.

“Being an occult studies professor, students tend to find interesting things and bring them to me. Something from a late family member, or something from an antique shop. Most of them don’t have enough of an interest to want to keep them. The more practiced you are, the easier it is to tell the real from the fake. Sometimes other witches pass them to one another, or relatives of witches that aren’t themselves magical. Lots of ways to get them.” Sheila replied. “As for why… well, you never know when something could come in handy. All witches are unique and with that can come unique spells. Knowledge from one grimoire could be found in a hundred other grimoires. Or, the knowledge from a grimoire could be entirely unique.” 

“That’s insane.” Ellie said before focusing on how Sheila was packing some of the grimoires into a backpack. “What are you doing?”

“Like I said, some grimoires repeat the same information, especially if they were relatives as they would share knowledge with one another but both write it down so that they didn’t lose it. These are some grimoires that are repeated in other books that I have, so I’m giving them to you. Every witch should have at least one grimoire, but a collection is always better.” Sheila said. “I’m also wrapping up some herbs and things that might come in handy in a pinch.”

“Thank you so much.” Ellie told her sincerely. Sheila had always been like a grandmother to her, especially with as much time as she spent here with Bonnie when they were younger. Especially since she didn’t have many memories of her own grandparents. They lingered up in the attic for a while, Sheila explaining to Ellie what types of herbs did what and Ellie paying rapt attention. Despite how strange it was that she was a witch, it was also kind of comforting to have this routine with Sheila. Eventually, the ringing of Ellie’s phone broke the silence. “Hello?”

_ “Hey, Ellie.” _ Jenna greeted brightly.

“What’s up?”

_ “I was thinking, why don’t we have a family dinner night? We haven’t had one of those in a while.”  _ Jenna suggested.

It only took a moment for Ellie to make a decision. “That actually sounds really good. So I’m assuming you want me to go to the store to get something to make?” She asked teasingly.

Jenna laughed on the other side of the line before admitting,  _ “You caught me. I was thinking maybe pasta?” _

“Delicious Ellie pasta, coming right up.” Ellie informed her. 

_ “God bless you.” _ Jenna told her.  _ “See you soon.” _

“It seems you have to go.” Sheila said warmly as Ellie placed her phone back in her pocket.

“Yeah, Jenna secretly just wants me to make something good, but hey family time is good too.” Ellie laughed. “Thank you for all of this.” She told the older woman as they made their way out of the attic.

“It is an honor to teach a young witch our craft.” Sheila assured her. “But be sure to keep this safe. Wouldn’t want it getting in the wrong hands.”

The warning seemed genuine, so Ellie nodded firmly. “I’ll keep it safe.” Before pulling out of the drive, Ellie sent a text to Elena to let her know about the dinner plans and then headed for the store.

* * *

When Ellie had returned from the store Jenna was excitedly waiting and helped bring in the groceries. “God, I feel like we haven’t made pasta sauce from scratch in ages.” Jenna told her.

“You mean I haven’t made it from scratch in ages.” Ellie said teasingly.

“Listen, it’s not my fault I can’t cook. Your mom couldn’t either. You must have gotten your skills from your dad because believe me, the Sommers women can not cook to save their lives.” Jenna laughed as she moved to wash off the tomatoes. “Washing tomatoes, that much I can do.”

“Don’t forget the little stickers on them.” Ellie reminded her. The duo fell into an easy routine of preparing the ingredients until the doorbell rang. “Who is that?” 

“I have no clue.” Jenna replied as she dried off her hands and the duo headed for the door. When they opened it, before them stood the one and only, Damon Salvatore, bottle of wine in hand.

“What do you want?” Ellie asked. 

“Well, I heard from a little birdy that you were making Italian, and given that I am Italian, I thought I’d offer my services.” Damon said, a charming smile on his face. “And of course, no good Italian is complete without a nice bottle of wine.”

Ellie rolled her eyes, she didn’t have to know wine to know that the one he was offering was the expensive kind. He had Jenna hook, line, and sinker the moment he showed the bottle. “Well, Ellie always is the one doing the cooking, and who could say no to that kind of an offer.” Jenna said.

“Fine, but if the food sucks I’m throwing it in your face.” Ellie huffed.

“If it doesn’t taste good then I would very much deserve it.” Damon replied, unfazed, as he headed for the kitchen. “Would you like to take a taste of the wine Jenna?” He asked. 

“What could it hurt?” She said and hopped up on the counter as he popped open the wine and poured her a glass.

After Ellie hopped up next to Jenna as well, she kind of zoned out of the conversation Jenna and Damon were having, given that it was about past relationships and Ellie had none. Instead she fixated on watching Damon cut. It was oddly soothing. “My father never approved of anyone I dated, which only made me want them more. Of course.” His grin made Ellie want to bash her face into the cabinets. “What about you, Jenna?”

“There were a few guys. Logan isn’t the only loser I’ve dated.” Jenna told him.

“No, but he’s the one I hate the most.” Ellie added.

“They ever find him? Or is he still missing?” Damon asked.

“He’s not missing. He’s in the Bahamas working on his tan.” Jenna replied. “Very entitled, that one. Marches to his own drum.” She drained her glass before saying, “He’s a Fell. They’re all snooty.” Damon walked over and refilled her glass with a, in Ellie’s opinion, creepy smile as he laughed at her comment.

“They really are the snootiest bunch.” Ellie replied, thinking of Jessica Fell. She was one of the cheerleaders and thought she was royalty among peasants from the way she acted all the time.

“Hello, Elena.” Damon said suddenly and both Jenna and Ellie turned around as Elena walked into the room looking confused.

“Hey, where have you been?” Jenna asked. “We’re cooking dinner.”

“Is Stefan with you?” Damon added.

“Um, he’ll be here soon.” Elena said as she stood next to where Ellie sat on the counter. Elena gave him a funny look. Not long after that, Ellie and Jenna ended up at the tv with Jeremy as he and Jenna raced on the video game. Ellie turned back to see Damon getting a little too close to Elena as she tried to do dishes. “Don’t do that.” Elena said, despite the amused chuckle she gave him.

“Do what?” He asked innocently.

“You know what. That move was deliberate.” Elena informed him.

“Well, yeah, I was deliberately trying to get to the sink.” Damon replied but Elena just scoffed at him. “Speaking of Stefan, where is he? He’s missing family night, which I am enjoying immensely.” There seemed to be no response from Elena and Damon continued and asked, “Is it real?”

“Is what real?”

“This renewed sense of brotherhood.” Damon clarified. “Can I trust him?” His question was asked so softly that Ellie almost didn’t hear him.

“Yes, you can trust him.” Elena replied although her voice sounded a little off, almost like she might be lying.

A moment later she could hear Damon saying, “There was a time when I trusted him more than anyone.”

“Trust breeds trust.” Elena replied. “You have to give it to get it.”

“Are you lecturing me?” Damon asked.

“Do you need to be lectured?” Elena retorted and Ellie’s eyebrows rose suspiciously at the near flirting tone her sister used. Placing her hand on her hip with a sassy raise of her eyebrows.

“Oh come on, Jenna, you can’t actually be this crap at racing.” Jeremy scoffed as he raced ahead of her, drawing Ellie back to the conversation on the couch.

“Yes, rub it in thanks. How would I be better than you when you spend so much time playing it?” Jenna scoffed as her character trailed along pitifully. Once Jenna lost, again she sighed and held the remote controller up in the air. “Hey, Damon! Why don’t you see if you can beat this punk at this since I am, how’d you say it Jer, ‘pathetically hopeless’?”

The two boys laughed as Damon sauntered over to the couch and Ellie moved to the chair. “I do have to admit, I’ve never played this before.” Ellie stuck around to hopefully watch Damon get his ass kicked, until he started beating Jeremy.

“You said you never played this thing before.” Jeremy commented, eyes glued to the tv.

“I’m a fast learner. Quick reflexes.” Damon said nonchalantly. Jeremy paused the game as his phone rang, quickly dismissing whoever it was. “Who are you dodging?”

“This girl Anna. She can be… persistent.” Jeremy confessed.

“Is she hot?” Damon asked.

“Yeah, yeah, but she can be weird.”

“Hot trumps weird, trust me.” Damon told him.

As Jeremy laughed Ellie stood and rolled her eyes before walking over to Jenna and Elena. “He is ridiculously hot!” Jenna whispered.

“Shhh!” Elena replied. “He’s an ass.”

“Honestly, Jenna. Like more of a dick than Scum Fell. Have some respect for yourself.” Ellie added and Jenna just grinned at her.

“But what are you doing with all this stuff, Elena?” Jenna asked.

“I thought there might be something about mine and Ellie’s birth parents.” Elena confessed.

“Wait you were digging for birth parent stuff and didn’t tell me?” Ellie asked.

Elena flushed, looking guilty and sympathetic. “Sorry, I was just so preoccupied trying to find something that I forgot to tell you.” She apologized.

“Have you told Jeremy?” Jenna asked.

“I will.” Elena replied as she closed the box. “We will.” She added with a look at Ellie. “When the time is right.” The doorbell rang and Elena announced, “That’s Stefan.” 

Ellie followed her twin and Damon to the front door and when it was opened to reveal Stefan, she noted the confusion on his face at Damon’s presence. “Um hey before we go in, Damon, Elena, can I talk to the two of you?” Stefan asked.

“That’s my cue to exit. Carry on.” Ellie said as Damon and Elena walked out and Ellie shut the door behind them.

As she returned to the living room, Jenna asked, “Where did they go?”

“They’re outside talking, I don’t know about what though.” Ellie said as she flopped down onto the couch and watched Jeremy’s solo game. With a dramatic gasp she asked, “You don’t think they’re like… in a gang do you?”

Jeremy scoffed. “Please. Elena… in a gang? She can’t keep a secret to save her life.” He snorted. 

“Very true.” Ellie agreed and watched the three of them speaking from the opened blinds.

“Hey guys, I’ll be back in a minute.” Jenna told them as she stood and headed upstairs.

“So.” Damon said as he strolled in. “I heard you found a really cool journal from back in the day. Who else did you show it to?”

“Huh?” Jeremy asked.

“Don’t ask questions, just spill.” Damon replied.

With a laugh, Jeremy asked. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“Jer, did you tell anyone other than Mr. Saltzman about Jonathan Gilbert’s journal?” Elena asked and Ellie looked between the three weirdos asking all the questions.

“Why is everybody so obsessed with that thing?” Ellie questioned. Elena never particularly cared much about family history.

“Not now, Ellie. Jer, who else did you tell?”

“Just that girl Anna.” He replied.

“The hot weird one?” Damon asked to confirm.

“Yeah.”

“Wait, who is Anna?” Stefan asked.

“That’s what I want to find out.” Damon replied. “How do you know her?”

“I just know her.” Jeremy replied as Ellie’s phone started to ring. 

She moved to grab her phone and when she saw Bonnie’s name she called to Elena, “It’s Bonnie. Come on.” Ellie urged. “Hey Bon, one second.” She said as she and Elena rushed up the steps. “Ok, me and Elena are alone. Give us all the deets, Bonnie.”

“Yes, please, we’re dying here.” Elena added as Ellie put the phone on speaker.

“It’s going great.” Bonnie gushed. “He’s a perfect gentleman.”

“A gentleman, huh?” Elena said teasingly.

“I know!” Bonnie replied. “Boring, huh? I just want to grab him and lay one on him.”

“So why don’t you?” Elena asked.

“Cause I’m a chicken.” Bonnie replied.

“You’re a powerful witch goddess. Come on, seize the day Broom Hilda.” Elena encouraged.

Ellie laughed and added, “And don’t you dare forget you’re a hot ass cheerleader with a really nice behind.”

Bonnie laughed at their comments before saying, “Ok. I’m going to text you guys later with more details.” She promised.

“You better.” Ellie warned teasingly. Stefan came up the stairs and into the room where they were. “Well, cutesy couple in a bedroom together… that’s a definite sign that I need to exit before I want to vomit.”

“Thanks, Ellie, I just need to talk to her for a bit.” Stefan said apologetically.

“Enough said.” Ellie replied. She came back downstairs to see Jenna looking around in confusion. “What’s up?”

“I leave for five seconds and everyone bails. We haven’t even eaten yet.” Jenna commented.

With a glance to the living room, she could see that Damon and Jeremy were gone. Did they go to see Anna? “Um, not one hundred percent where Jer and Damon went, but Elena and Stefan are upstairs. I can see if they want to eat?” She suggested.

“Yes please, because I’m hungry and this smells really good.” Jenna replied. Ellie turned and headed back up the stairs, knocking loudly on Elena’s door.

Elena opened the door a second later and Ellie said, “Jenna wants to know if you guys are going to eat, because she’s hungry.”

“Oh, tell Jenna to go ahead and eat, something came up that I need to help Stefan with.” Elena said with a laugh.

“Mmhmm, something came up. Just admit you want to make out Elena.” Ellie teased.

Her sister blushed furiously. “No, shut up Ellie, something really came up.” Elena replied.

Ellie made a skeptical noise but nodded and shut the door behind her. Coming back down the stairs she just shrugged and said, “Guess it’s just us for dinner gorgeous aunt of mine. Something ‘came up’ that Stefan needed Elena’s help for.” 

Jenna made the same noise that Ellie had made at that comment. “Yeah sure.” Jenna scoffed. “But, whatever. This smells good and that just means there’s more for us.” Ellie laughed as she grabbed a plate and started piling on the food.

They sat down, laughing and chatting as they ate. It was painfully familiar, to a time before her parents passed away and Jenna would visit. It was always laughter and play fights and sarcastic comments. Even with it just being Jenna and Ellie, it was comforting to do something familiar. “God, I can’t remember the last time we all actually sat down at the table together.” Ellie said with a huff. “I miss it.”

Jenna smiled sadly at her. “We’ll make it a thing. Family dinner at least once a week. It’s probably not healthy for us to eat so much frozen premade stuff.” Jenna commented.

Pretending to gag, Ellie nodded. “There’s no way it’s good for you. But this is obnoxiously good.” She huffed. “Don’t you ever tell Damon I think that this is good. I don’t need his ego inflating any more than it already has.” When they had almost finished their meal, Stefan and Elena came walking quickly down the stairs as Elena pulled on a jacket. “Where are you guys going?”

They stopped in the doorway, surprised at being called out to. “There’s something we need to go and do. I’ll be back later.” Elena replied and they were out the door before Jenna or Ellie could protest.

“Is it just me, or has Elena been giving like really shady excuses as to where she’s going and what she’s doing lately?” Ellie asked curiously.

“She has seemed a little unlike herself lately. Maybe it’s just a phase and she’s back to normal soon.” Jenna suggested. It was when they finished eating that Jeremy came home with Anna following right behind him.

“Hey Anna.” Ellie greeted warmly.

“Hey.” The other girl replied shyly, obviously nervous to be in front of Jenna.

“Jenna, this is Anna, my friend. I met her at the library when I was working on my extra credit assignment for Mr. Saltzman. She helped me find what books I needed.” Jeremy introduced and Ellie nodded in approval. Telling Jenna that Anna helped in saving Jeremy’s history grade was an almost guarantee for Jenna immediately liking the girl.

“Well then we owe you one. Are you guys hungry? We just put the food up so it’s still warm.” Jenna offered.

“Oh no thank you, I ate early.” Anna said politely as she nervously shifted towards Jeremy.

“Well, I’m definitely not going to make you stand here and make awkward conversation so go on and do whatever it is you want to do.” Jenna said and Anna relaxed considerably as Jeremy led her over to play the games. A while later, Stefan and Elena came in and went straight up to her room without a word. Jeremy had gone to get batteries for one of the remotes that died and Anna stood and walked over to them. 

“Um, excuse me. I need to use the restroom.” She said softly.

Once Jenna told her where to go, Anna disappeared and Jenna and Ellie returned to their work. Stefan came down the stairs and gave them a warm smile. “You know you’re not staying the night, right?” Jenna questioned.

“We’re just going to hang out for a little while.” He said as he propped against the doorway.

“You’re lucky I like you.” Jenna informed him. “Keep the door open.” 

Stefan’s smile was warm and bright at her warning. “You got it.” He replied. “Hey, do you have any aspirin?”

“Yeah.” Ellie replied. “Don’t worry Jenna, I got it.”

She stood and went over to the medicine cabinet, searching through it for the aspirin he’d asked for and was alerted to Jeremy’s presence by his greeting to Stefan, a simple, “Oh, hey, Stefan.” Followed by a, “Where’d she go?”

Ellie turned for a moment and said, “She went to the bathroom.”

“Where’d who go?” Stefan asked curiously.

“He has a friend over.” Ellie said with a grin as she started to unscrew the cap of the bottle.

“Anna.” Jeremy clarified. Stefan froze, looking lost in thought, before turning on his heel and running up the stairs. 

“Why is everyone so weird?” Ellie asked as she put the cap back on the bottle. “I guess he doesn’t want this then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is still Ramadan so, once again, Happy Ramadan to all of you that celebrate it. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 
> 
> Posted: 5/1/20


	14. Fool Me Once

**Chapter 14: Fool Me Once**

_ December 12, 2009 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ Everyone is weird. Like honestly. Jenna wanted to have a family dinner last night with me cooking and what ends up happening? Damon cooks for us. I don’t even know why he was at our house honestly. And I’m still not a fan of his, even if his cooking was good enough to be blessed by some Italian cooking god or whatever. It’s getting really old with the way everybody is keeping secrets. It’s not even just Elena and Stefan being shady, Jeremy’s new friend Anna just straight up disappeared. She went to use the bathroom and then never came back. Strangest thing is, I woke up this morning with a really bad feeling in my stomach, like something was wrong. _

Ellie sat next to Jeremy at a table in The Grill, texting back and forth with Caroline. Her favorite blonde had been texting her for ages asking Ellie for help with the speech she was preparing for Matt. Yes, an actual speech. Jeremy was drawing in his sketch pad and Ellie was idly watching Tyler play pool while she waited for Caroline to respond. Tyler was enthusiastically talking about Duke’s party. “Ten kegs.” Tyler was saying. “Do you know how much damage we could do with ten kegs? Duke’s got it all hooked up.”

“Duke’s a douche.” Matt said as he finished clearing a table.

“Yeah. A douche with ten kegs.” Tyler reminded. “AKA, my new best friend.” Jeremy laughed at Tyler’s idiocy. “What’s the problem, Gilbert?”

“Don’t have one Lockwood.” Jeremy replied without looking up.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Tyler shot back.

“You ever get bored of it?” Matt asked curiously.

“Of what?”

“Yourself.” Matt told Tyler before walking off.

Ellie and Jeremy laughed at it and Tyler just rolled his eyes. “Keep laughing, buddy.”

“Hey Jeremy.” Caroline called as she approached. “Where is Elena? I have been texting her and Bonnie all day about Duke’s party. And Ellie here, doesn’t seem to have a clue.”

“Uh, she went somewhere with Stefan.” Jeremy informed them.

With a groan, Caroline said, “I am so not going to be one of those girls who disappears just because she has a new boyfriend.”

“Who is Duke?” Jeremy asked, effectively changing the subject.

“Some guy that graduated a couple years ago.” Ellie explained. “And he throws a party every time he comes home from Duke.”

“Wait, Duke goes to Duke?” Jeremy asked.

“His real name is Bob or something. He’s a total ass, but he buys the beer.” Caroline added. “You know, you should come.”

“Uhh, yeah. I… I don’t think so.”

“No seriously, everyone goes.” Caroline continued. “Even quiet loner little brothers.”

“Do it Jer, I’ll even sneak you drinks so Elena doesn’t catch you, that is if she even shows up.” Ellie said. “But wait, Care, you said Bonnie hasn’t responded either?”

Caroline shook her head. “Nope, which is frustrating because I need assistance on picking out an outfit.”

Ellie checked her phone to see if she’d missed a message from her witchy friend. “You know that’s really really weird, because she was supposed to text me with more details about her date last night and I never got another message from her after she’d called me.” Ellie said, a pit of worry bubbling in her stomach.

Picking up on it, Caroline said, “Maybe the date just ran later than expected and she went to sleep as soon as she got home, or maybe her phone is dead and she hasn’t charged it. I’m sure she’s fine.” The blonde looked at something behind the Gilberts and said, “I need to go do something, but Jeremy, think about it. Hey!” She said as she walked over to Matt.

“Hey.” He replied.

“So I have a speech.” Caroline told him and Ellie turned in her seat so she could see them better. “It is fully scripted and well rehearsed. Are you ready for it?”

“You wrote a speech?”

“Yes.” She confirmed. “It’s a ‘you kissed me and I don’t want things to be weird’ speech. It’s preemptive.”

“Preemptive.” Matt repeated with a small laugh.

“Yeah, you know, in case you were having second thoughts or regrets or were like ooged out.”

“Ooged, huh?” Matt grinned.

“Can I just get on with the speech part?” She asked.

“Yeah, go for it.” Matt encouraged.

“So, I know that you don’t think that this is going to work out between us. I just want to let you know that right here and right now, I’m offering you an out. Like an escape clause.” Caroline told him.

“Why are you giving me an escape clause?”

“I don’t want to make assumptions about what it is we are doing here.”

“Got it.” Matt replied.

“So, if you would like to exercise it, just let me know.” She told him.

“I’m good, but thanks.” He said.

Ellie grinned in the surprised silence from Caroline. “Ok.” The blonde said after a beat. “Good.”

“Yeah.”

“So, see you for Duke’s party tonight.”

“Yeah.” Matt confirmed grinning brightly at her.

She watched Caroline leave, a pep in her step. Once her happy blonde friend was gone, she turned back to where Tyler was playing pool. “Hey, Ty.”

“Yeah.” Tyler replied as he sunk the nine ball in the pocket.

“Pretty sure you’re an alcoholic.” She said. “Maybe you should see someone about that.” He gave her a highly unimpressed look, even as Jeremy laughed beside her. “I’m just saying.” She said innocently.

“Shut up.” He said as he tossed a balled up napkin at her.

“Come on, Ellie, I need to go get more art stuff.” Jeremy told her as he gathered his stuff.

“See you at the party, Ty.” She called and laughed at the glare Tyler sent her way. As they walked out of The Grill a familiar dark haired girl caught her eye. “Hey, Jer, isn’t that Anna over there?”

“What? Where?” Jeremy spotted the girl and called, “Anna!” They jogged across the street as he said, “Hey, what, uh, what happened to you last night?”

“Sorry, I had to leave. I told your sister to tell you. The other one.” Anna apologized.

“Oh, I haven’t seen her.”

“Well, I gotta run, so-”

“Hey, do you wanna go to a party tonight?” Jeremy asked, cutting her off.

“Do I what?”

“Well, the guy that’s throwing it is a total douche, but it’s uh, it’s supposed to be fun. I figured, you know, safety in numbers.” Jeremy told her.

Anna chuckled and said, “So you’re finally ready to go out with me, are you?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to a party, and I kinda want to get back out there. And not be such a… a loner. And, uh, I like you. You’re fun, and you’re also kind of strange and lurky, but uh, I guess I like that too. So, yeah, you should come to the party with me. It’s in the woods by that old cemetery.” Jeremy explained.

“Oh, it’s there, huh? That sounds cool. Uh, I’ll meet you.” Anna agreed.

Ellie watched the surprise dance across Jeremy’s face as he said, “Oh… ok great! Cool!”

“Ok.” Anna grinned. “Bye, Ellie.”

“Bye, Anna.” Ellie replied and as Anna walked off, Ellie tugged on Jeremy’s shoulder looking like the cat that caught the canary. “My baby brother has a date oh my god!” She squealed as they walked. “Jeremy and Anna sittin in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

“Shut up.”

“First comes loves, then comes marriage, then a emo little baby in a baby carriage.” Ellie teased.

“I can’t stand you.” He huffed, but it didn’t do much when his ears were a lovely shade of red, and it wasn’t from the cold. “Why are you so irritating when you’ve never even dated anyone?”

She smirked at his defense. “Because I live vicariously through you and Elena.” She retorted. “Come on, let’s get more art stuff for the young mastermind.” She figured she would give him more grief at the party.

* * *

After Jeremy and Ellie made it back home, Ellie snuck up to her room to finally put away all the things that Sheila had given her yesterday. Once her door was locked, she made her way over to her closet and pulled out a large trunk that had been her great grandmother’s, or something. The things that had originally been in it had been placed in another box in some storage unit and the empty box given to Ellie. Setting up a false bottom to the trunk was easier than she had expected. She thanked Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the idea. She placed the grimoires down first and then the bottled herbs before replacing the fake bottom and piling clothes she knew Elena wouldn’t wear inside it.

Just as she’d finished putting everything in place, her phone started to ring. Hoping it was Elena or Bonnie, she rushed over and answered it quickly, only to be greeted by the voice of Sheila.  _ “Hello? Ellie?” _

“Hi, I’m here.” She replied. “Is something wrong?”

_ “Nothing too serious, but I need your help with something. Can you come to my house?” _

The worry Ellie had been feeling all day sunk deeper into her stomach. Something must be up if Sheila was calling her for help. “Um, yeah, yeah, I’m coming over right now. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” She was already out of her room and rushing down the stairs before Sheila started to reply.

_ “Thank you.” _ The call ended just as abruptly as it started and if Ellie broke a few speed limits, who could blame her when she was this worried? She arrived at Sheila’s in record time, the door opening to reveal Sheila as she rushed up the porch steps. “Thank you for getting here so quickly.”

“What’s going on?” Ellie asked worriedly as she followed Sheila into the kitchen.

“I need your help with a spell, I can do it on my own but with you helping as well I’ll get it done faster and it will be easier. There was a map surrounded by candles that flared to life as they entered. “Just a little locator spell.” Ellie didn’t flinch as the knife was dragged across her palm, and let the blood drip down onto the map. Then Sheila slit her own palm and her blood fell into the puddle of Ellie’s blood. Sheila took a tight hold of Ellie’s hands, the spell flowing from them naturally. This wasn’t like the other locator spell that Sheila had shown her, even if the incantation was the same. She did not see who they were trying to find, but she watched in interest as their blood started to travel along the map and watched with fascination until it stopped.

Sheila pressed a towel to her hand and sent a message to someone, looking relieved. Ellie was entirely confused at the situation but muttered the spell that Emily had taught her under her breath, the redness from the injury fading away into her regular skin tone. “I’m glad to help, but what is going on? Why did you need my blood?”

“It’s ok. Everything will be fine, dear.” Sheila told her, although she might have been reassuring herself rather than Ellie.

“Do you want me to heal that for you?” Ellie asked rather than pushing for answers. “ _ Phasmatos Sana Quod Sanguinem Vulnere _ .” Sheila’s skin stitched itself back together nicely and she gave the younger witch a proud smile.

“You’re getting stronger.” Sheila praised as she ran a finger down where her cut was a moment ago. “That’s a good thing. I can see such potential in you. You’ll be one of the strongest witches I know; I can feel it.” Ellie followed Sheila into the kitchen, and let herself fall into the familiar routine of making chamomile tea with her like they always did. “Something is bothering you. What is it?”

Anxiously pulling on the edge of her sweater, Ellie confessed, “I’ve had this really bad feeling ever since I woke up this morning and I can’t shake it. It might be nothing but I don’t really know. Like you know in horror movies when that freaky music starts to play and all your hair stands on end and your heart starts to race?” She asked and Sheila nodded in confirmation. “Well it feels like that. And to top it off and make it even weirder, there’s something in my gut that’s telling me that it’s not me in danger, it’s someone that I care about.”

“Well then we’ll do our best to keep everyone safe. Intuition is something everyone has to a degree, some witches have a stronger sense of it. Everything will be fine, Ellie.” Sheila said as they drank their tea. After a while, there was a knock on the door and Sheila said, “Here, why don’t you go up into the attic and read through those books while I see who that is?” Despite the fact that Ellie found the suggestion odd, she allowed Sheila to lead her to the attic and then shut her in.

Ellie could hear voices and followed quietly trying to hear better. “How did you know where we were?” She could hear the voice faintly. Was that Bonnie?

“Many things can fuel a witch’s power. Worry. Anger.” Sheila said. “After… told me that… you. I had a lot of both.” The heater kicking on had made it harder to hear. “Simple locator spell was easy after that.” So they’d been searching for Bonnie? Why did Sheila need her blood for that? Ellie wasn’t related to Bonnie.

“I’m sorry. About all of this.” Bonnie apologized. What the hell was going on? Had Bonnie been taken? Was that why she’d never texted Ellie or Caroline back? Was that why she’d had such a bad feeling in her stomach?

“Not as sorry as they’re gonna be.” Sheila warned. Despite Ellie’s need to know what was happening, she felt awful for eavesdropping on a conversation she wasn’t supposed to be listening to. So, with effort, she forced herself away from the sounds of their conversation and back to the books and herbs. Returning to the grimoires, Ellie was surprised to find a spell that was meant to cause pain to the target. It didn’t specify what kind of pain but it did note that witches were capable of a non-verbal variation that wasn’t as strong.

Another passage talked about how witches all had telekinetic abilities, but that there were spells that were stronger than the non-verbal form. Unable to help her curiosity, Ellie turned her focus over to the random objects in the room, like the lamp sitting on top of an end table. She relaxed, before focusing in on the lamp, and watched as it rose slowly until it was floating a foot above the table. How much could she lift without a spell? Once the lamp was back on the table, she focused on lifting the table itself. To her surprise, it too rose with ease and stayed steady enough that she didn’t have to worry about the lamp falling off. She continued practicing spells, seeing what could be done before verbally and non-verbally until Sheila returned. “Is everything alright?” Ellie asked as she followed Sheila into the kitchen for their customary tea.

“Just a bit of business I have to take care of, nothing to worry about. Did you learn anything useful today?” Sheila asked.

“I did. I came across this section that talked about pain infliction. It said that we have a natural ability to do it without a spell. Why would we need to do that?” Ellie questioned.

Sheila almost seemed reluctant to answer, but she did, saying, “It’s good to know spells to defend yourself. Just because we have the knowledge or the ability doesn’t mean we have to put it to use.” Ellie accepted the answer and let it drop, despite being curious if Sheila had ever used it herself.

“Was that Bonnie I heard earlier? I was really worried about her.” Ellie confessed.

“She’s just fine, I appreciate your concern for her. She’s lucky to have you as a friend.” Sheila informed her. They settled into their usual routine of talking and Ellie listening as Sheila taught her more magic until Ellie got a text from Caroline who was making sure that Ellie was still coming to the party. “It seems like it’s time for you to go.” Sheila noted.

“Yeah, I have to get dressed before heading to Duke’s party.” Ellie said as she gathered up her things. To her surprise, before she could go, Sheila gave her a tight hug which she happily returned. “What was that for?”

“I just want you to know how proud I am of you.” Sheila said sincerely and Ellie gave a grin.

“I know Miss Sheila. I hope you know how grateful I am that you’re my teacher.” Ellie replied.

Sheila gave her a fond smile and a nod before hugging her once more. “Alright, off you go. Have fun at that party. Stay safe.” She said and Ellie nodded with a laugh before heading on to her car and driving back to her house to change.

“Hey Jer!” Ellie greeted as she strolled inside. “Ready for your date with Anna?” She said with a suggestive waggle of her eyebrows.

“You are way too invested in my love life.” He said with a scoff, ignoring the question.

“I told you, it’s because I live vicariously through you and Elena, but Elena’s being shady so you gotta pick up the slack.” Ellie said. “Hurry up and do whatever you need to do to be ready and I’ll drive you to the party.”

“Thanks.” He told her and she rushed to change into a warmer outfit. Tonight was definitely going to be cold and the last thing she wanted was to catch a bad cold or the flu when they were getting so close to Christmas break. Soon enough they pulled up the party. Unsurprisingly, the party was already in full swing. “Hey thanks for the ride, I think I’m gonna go look for Anna.”

“Have fun with your new girlfriend.” Ellie sang, ducking out of the way before he could hit her. “Bye bye baby brother.” She mingled in with the crowd of teenagers, bouncing between conversations as she drank. 

Her attention was caught with Matt’s call of, “Elena, hey!” She spun around to see Matt and Caroline approaching Elena and… Damon? 

“Elena, oh my god. Where have you been?” Caroline asked as Ellie came to stand beside the blonde.

Her sister’s attention dropped down to where Caroline laced her hand through Matt’s before Damon said, “Long story, no time to tell it.”

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Caroline retorted.

“Sure you were.” Damon shot back.

“We haven’t met. I’m Matt.” He said as he held a hand out for Damon to shake.

“Matt, there’s a reason we haven’t met.” Damon said. “You and I are going that way.”

When Damon took a hold of Elena’s arm, Ellie stepped over to block their path. “Actually Elena I’d really like to know where you’ve been? And why are you with this jackass?” Damon gave her a deadly look, but Ellie stood her ground. He had no clue what she was capable of.

“Ellie don’t worry about it.” Elena tried to dismiss.

“I don’t think so. You can’t go on about-”

“Ellie, I don’t have time for this. We have somewhere we need to be.” Elena insisted. “Stefan’s waiting on us.” Her sister seemed to think that name-dropping Stefan would be enough for her to let the issue go, but Damon didn’t seem to care what Ellie thought.

“And we’re going now.” Damon said as he all but shoved Ellie out of the way, dragging Elena along with him.

“Ah, I’m sorry, you guys.” Elena said as she let him drag her away.

“One of these days I’m gonna help Bonnie set that fucker on fire.” Ellie said with a huff, storming off to find Tyler.

She found Tyler as he approached her brother. “...got any weed?” He was saying as she approached.

“Wait you’re kidding me, right?” Jeremy asked curiously. “You act like a total dick every time we cross paths, and now you want to party with me?”

“Lighten up, Gilbert. I’m just asking you a question.” Tyler replied.

“Dude, I don’t get you, man.”

“It’s a party.” Tyler reminded him. “You’re a partier, ok? There’s no need to psychoanalyze it.”

“I don’t party anymore.” Jeremy said. “And even if I did, it wouldn’t be with you.”

“No problem.” Tyler nodded. “Carry on just standing there, by yourself. All alone. The enemy of fun. Do you even have any friends?”

“Watch it, Ty.” Ellie warned. “Just come on.” She pulled him away, grinning slightly when she saw Anna approaching. “Hey Ty, if I ever wanted you to fuck someone up you’d do that for me right?”

“Do I need to kick someone’s ass?” Tyler asked. He said it with a laugh, but she knew he absolutely would.

“It’s just… stupid Damon and stupid Elena. She’s done nothing but tell me and Caroline and Bonnie to stay as far away from him as we can possibly get but here she is coming to this thing with Damon and doing the total opposite of everything she’s telling us to do.” Ellie ranted, huffing slightly as she let Tyler tug her under his arm. “Like he is a major psycho I’m telling you. He gives me like the same kinda crazy vibes as your dad.”

That really got Tyler to focus. Comparing anyone to his dad and saying they were similar to her meant this guy was definitely bad news. “Who is this Damon guy again?”

“Stefan’s older brother. He dated Caroline for five seconds and was a major asshole to her. He’s such a jerk that he makes you on your worst days look like a freaking saint.” She informed him. “From the moment I met the dude I just knew he was bad news.”

“Well, just say the word and I’ll pummel him for you.” Tyler told her. “Now come on, we need alcohol.” She laughed as he pulled her over to the keg. Not long after that, Tyler was working on a nice buzz and Ellie followed him as he dashed up to Matt and said, “Swoop.” As he stole Matt’s beer.

“Hey!” Matt protested as Tyler chugged it.

“Ahh, where’s your date?” Tyler asked once he finished the bottle.

“Who knows?” Matt replied.

“Ah, is the honeymoon over already?” Tyler asked.

“Be nice Ty or I’m cutting you off.” Ellie warned.

“Maybe.”

“After all that grief you gave me about liking her. I figured it would have lasted longer than five minutes.” Tyler taunted.

“Look, I just… I don’t know if I can do the whole public couple thing. She… she seems like she might be a little clingy.” Matt confessed.

“Well, good. I need my boy single anyways. Ooh, incoming.” Tyler said as he looked behind Ellie. She turned just enough to see her favorite blonde approaching.

“Hey, there you are.” Caroline beamed.

“Here I am.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not drunk enough. So I’m just going to get another beer.” Tyler said.

“I’ll go with you Ty.” Ellie said, shoving him away from the couple but stopped when she was far enough away to not be suspicious, but she could still hear them.

“So.” Caroline started.

“So.” He repeated.

“I have another speech.” Caroline confessed.

“Ok.”

“The hand thing with Elena, it was lame. Well, I was lame. And, hey, your feelings for Elena aside, Damon was there, and he was always such a jerk to me. And I wanted to show off that I was with the good guy. So, anyways, I was lame. So… forgiven?” Caroline asked softly.

Matt hesitated for a moment before smiling at her and saying, “Yeah. Of course, yeah.” Caroline let out a breath of relief and smiled back at him.

Ellie let out a pleased cheer, quiet enough to not let them know she’d been listening. “Come on, Gilbert, can you even keep up?” Tyler taunted as Ellie downed the contents of her cup. Suddenly, the cup fell from her hands and she swayed, collapsing. Tyler caught her before she hit the ground as Matt and Caroline rushed to her side. “Ellie? Ellie are you ok?” Tyler asked worriedly as Ellie’s vision blurred.

“Oh my god, Ellie hey can you hear me?” Caroline asked worriedly. She could feel Caroline’s hands on her face, possibly feeling for a fever or something, but she couldn’t get her eyes to focus. “Was there something in that cup Tyler?” Caroline asked. Her tone wasn’t accusatory, but afraid.

“There’s no way I poured our drinks myself.” Tyler replied, but everything was starting to sound like she was underwater. She felt hot and sick and dizzy and she was struggling to remain calm. “Hey, Ellie, come  _ on _ you have to focus.” Tyler tried.

She tried to make the words come out to try and explain what she felt but it felt like there was a disconnect between what she wanted to do and what she could do. She’d never reacted to drinking like this before, so what was happening? “Do you think I need to call an ambulance?” Matt asked worriedly. His voice was close, like he was squatting down beside her. She tried to focus on what she could hear since her vision was blurry. Her friends were all down beside her. Tyler was kind of behind her, holding her up. Caroline was in front of her. Matt down to her right.

With a great deal of effort, Ellie managed to shake her head to tell him not to call an ambulance, at least she hoped she did. Caroline assured her that she’d managed it when the blonde replied, “Why not, Ellie? You’re really scaring me.” Ellie let out a whine of pain right before Caroline let out a shriek. “Ellie, your nose, it’s bleeding.”

All at once, it was like someone popped a balloon and the headache that felt like someone was stabbing her in the head with a knife disappeared as her vision cleared, although the sick feeling remained. “Oh my god.” Ellie groaned, leaning back on Tyler as she wiped away the blood from her nose. “What the fuck was that?”

Caroline sagged into Matt, eyes shining with worried tears. “Ellie, are you ok?” Matt asked her.

“Yeah, yeah I’m ok now. I have no clue what that was, though.” She nodded as she let Tyler help her so she was standing. “Maybe I just got too close to the fire or something? Overheated.” She suggested. “Matt you think I could lay in your trunk bed for a few minutes? Cool off. I still feel a little sick to my stomach.”

“Yeah of course, come on.” Matt said. Her three friends stayed close to her as they walked, and helped her up into the trunk bed carefully. Caroline even went so far as to lay a tarp down so that the metal wasn’t too cold. “You two can go back and party if you want, I’ll hang here with Ellie to make sure she’s ok.” Matt suggested.

“Are you sure?” Caroline questioned.

“Yeah, I’m ok other than feeling a little sick and Matty is more than enough to make sure I’m ok. You guys go and have fun.” Ellie agreed. Reluctantly, Tyler and Caroline walked off to join the party again. “I’m just gonna lay here, Matty.”

“Alright.” He said and shot her a smile. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will.”

She must have dozed off slightly because when she came to, Matt was talking to Caroline. “Is this for real?” He asked her.

“Is what for real?”

“You being all cool and honest and open?”

“Speech number three? I want this to work. And I’m scared that you’re going to change your mind and you’re not going to want it. I don’t want to mess it up.” Caroline confessed.

“I don’t want to mess it up, either.” After Matt’s confession was silent and Ellie guessed they were either kissing or having a moment, and both worked for her.

When Ellie finally got home, she found Elena in the bathroom with aspirin and a glass of water. “What’s going on?” Ellie asked as she followed Elena into Jeremy’s bedroom.

“Jer passed out at the party.” Elena confessed before she asked him, “How’s your head?”

“Uh, it’s uh, it’s alright. I just… I wish I knew how I passed out. I didn’t drink that much, I swear.” Jeremy told them.

“And you don’t remember anything?” Elena questioned.

“The whole thing’s pretty cloudy. I just… I know how this looks. I’m… I’m sorry.” Jeremy apologized.

“No, Jeremy, don’t be sorry. Elena and I know that you’ve been really good about not taking drugs and keeping the drinking down.” Ellie told him.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, ok?” Elena added. When Jeremy agreed she told him, “I’ve gotta head over to Bonnie’s for a little bit but is there anything that you need?”

“Ah, no I’m just gonna crash.” Jeremy told her.

“Ok, well, Jenna and Ellie are here, and I’ll be back soon.” Elena said before she headed out.

“Jer, I think I’m gonna go and get some sleep, but if you need something feel free to come and get me.” Ellie said as she pressed a kiss to his cheek and ruffled his hair. “Night, Jer, love you.”

“Love you too, Ellie.” He replied as she got up to walk out. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. She pushed it off as still feeling off from whatever happened at the party and got in the bed. The awful feeling followed her into her dreams that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I hope you're all doing well. I figured since it's taking a while for Ellie to find out the truth, I'd give you guys a bit of a spoiler. Ellie will meet Katherine in about 13 chapters. I really hope you stick around so you can see it! Also Happy Ramadan to those that celebrate it!
> 
> Posted 5/8/20


	15. A Few Good Men

**Chapter 15: A Few Good Men**

_ January 7, 2010 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ Bonnie’s Grams died… I don’t know what happened. Bonnie said she was tired and she went to lay down but when Bonnie went to check on her she wasn’t breathing. Elena was with Bonnie when it happened, so at least she wasn’t alone. After everything Bonnie went to stay with her aunt for a bit and we’re just waiting for her to come home. I don’t know how to react to her passing after I’ve spent so much time with her. It feels like I lost a grandmother too. I just hope Bonnie feels better soon. _

Elena and Ellie sat on the front porch swing together, with Elena’s legs draped over Ellie’s lap. “Do you think we should call to check in on Bonnie?” Elena asked as she fiddled with the pages of her book. 

For whatever reason, Elena had also taken the death of Miss Sheila rather hard and had been worried about their friend nonstop. “Yeah, I think we should. I haven’t heard from her for a few days.” Ellie agreed as Elena pulled out her phone and started to call their friend.

It rang for a minute until Elena spoke. “Hey Bonnie, it’s me, just checking in, seeing how you’re doing. We miss you here. Don’t let your aunt drive you too crazy. Come home soon. We love you.” Elena ended her message as Jenna walked up onto the porch, coffee in hand.

“What are the two of you doing out here? It’s cold.” Jenna asked.

“Thinking.” Ellie replied.

“Writing.” Elena said at the same time. “The, uh, funeral for Bonnie’s grandma, it brought back a lot about mom and dad.” Elena confessed and Ellie tensed at the mention of their passed away parents. “I was wondering. You said that you would do some digging about them, the adoption.” She clarified.

“Right.” Jenna nodded.

“So did you?” Elena asked. “Dig?”

“Come on inside you two.” Jenna said and then twins knew that meant she’d found something. They followed after her and stood behind her as she pulled up something on her laptop. “Your dad kept everything from his medical practice. Records, logs… old appointment books. I found an entry from the night the two of you were born. Patient and a birth date. Isobel Peterson.”

“Do you think that’s her real name?” Elena asked.

“Probably not.” Ellie told her. “If you were a pregnant teenaged runaway… would you be honest either?”

“I’d have to agree with Ellie. Pregnant teenage runaway, probably not. First name, maybe. But where’d she get Peterson? Classmate? Best friend? So, I binged it.” Jenna told them as she pulled up the search engine. “I searched for all the Petersons in this area, born the same year as Isobel. Found three, two men and a woman, Trudie, who lived in Grove Hill, Virginia.”

“That’s not far from here.” Elena said.

“Well, watch this.” Jenna said as she pulled up an old Grove Hill alumni page. It showed a picture of two cheerleaders, a blonde and a brunette. Trudie Peterson and Isobel Flemming.

“Isobel.” Ellie said softly and she felt an ache in her heart for a woman she’d never met. “She was a cheerleader.” Ellie added, grinning at Jenna and Elena.

“Trudie still lives there.” Jenna told them. “This is her address.” She passed a sticky note over to Elena.

“What about Isobel?” Elena asked.

Jenna hesitated, before confessing, “I couldn’t find anything about her.” The twins sat down silently, looking at the father’s appointment book. “Listen, there’s something else. Mr. Saltzman, Ric, his wife was from around here. And her name was also Isobel.” 

“Wait. ‘Was’ as in…” Elena trailed off, afraid to finish the question.

Jenna looked terribly sympathetic as she told them softly, “She died.” Ellie reached over and took a hold of Elena’s hand as Jenna explained, “I don’t know much, but as far as I know, she was killed, but the case was never solved.” That was enough for Ellie to excuse herself to go up to her room to try and get it together. 

She only reemerged from her room with the banging on her bedroom door. When she opened it, it revealed Elena standing there anxiously, sticky note in hand. “Do you… do you want to come with me? Should we go see her?” Elena asked nervously. “I just really want answers.”

There was no hesitation as Ellie nodded and grabbed her coat. “Let’s go, it shouldn’t take too long to drive there.” the twins rushed out of the house and into the car. “You drive? I navigate?”

“Works for me.” Elena agreed. “I mean this is probably not my best idea but I don’t know what else to do.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Elena. I get it. I want answers too.” Ellie told her. “Turn left up at the light.” As Elena followed her instruction, Ellie added, “I wonder if Trudie even knew that Isobel was pregnant. And if our birth mother was Isobel, Mr. Saltzman’s wife, do you think he knew that she had been pregnant? Or would she have hidden it from him? Also what would that make him to us? A step-dad? Would we be technically related at all? How would that work?”

“I have no clue honestly. I wonder if he’d even want anything to do with us in that way.” Elena told her.

“Turn right at that stop sign up there.” Ellie said. “I wonder if Trudie would know who our birth father is? We should ask her. I mean we should if she doesn’t slam the door in our faces. We also have to tell Jeremy. I don’t like keeping something this big from him. I have no idea how he’s going to react to this.”

“I know. I know.” Elena sighed. “We’ll tell him soon. Maybe we can wait until we get more answers on our birth parents?”

“Turn right at this stop sign and then we’re good for a few miles.” Ellie said as she thought over what Elena said. “We just need to tell him sooner rather than later and definitely before he finds out from someone else.”

“You’re right. I just don’t know how to tell him. Like how do we tell him something like that? Hey sorry, Jer, we’re not actually your blood sisters like you thought. Also our mom is actually Mr. Saltzman’s dead wife so there’s that.” Elena deadpanned and Ellie couldn’t help but scoff at her expression. The rest of the ride was filled only by the soft music on the radio and the occasional direction from Ellie.

“Look! There it is!” Ellie said and she could feel her heart beating a little harder in her chest. The house was nice and two stories and Ellie followed Elena up the steps of the porch before they both hesitated at the door. Elena almost turned around to head back to the car before Ellie squeezed her hand and said, “Now or never.” Elena nodded and Ellie could see the way her sister was preparing herself for whatever was about to happen. 

Elena knocked on the door loudly and they both felt the anticipation bundling in their stomachs. Just as they began to turn to leave, the door opened, revealing a pretty blonde. “Trudie?” Elena questioned. “Tru-Trudie Peterson?”

“Yes.” She replied warmly.

“Um, my name is Elena Gilbert and this is my sister Ellie. We wanted to talk to you about Isobel Flemming.” Elena told her.

“Well, I haven’t heard that name in years.” Trudie confessed. Her warm smile made Ellie a little less nervous. “How do you know her?”

When Ellie saw Elena hesitate, she took over and said, “We think that, um, well… do you know if she had a pair of twins that she gave up for adoption?”

The shock was clear as day as the realization struck the blonde. “My god.” She said. “You’re her daughters.” Trudie laughed lightly before saying, “I was just gonna make some tea. Would the two of you like some?”

“Sure.” Elena agreed as she smiled at the older woman.

“Uh, the kitchen’s this way.” She stepped aside and Ellie walked in first, followed by Elena before they let Trudie lead the way.

“I wasn’t going to come.” Elena told her. “I didn’t think I was, but I was driving and I hit this stoplight, and it made me think about when I was learning how to drive and then, my mom would always warn me about this blind turn on the left-hand side, and then I was thinking about my mom, and so I went and got Ellie and… we had your address. I’m sorry for barging in.” Elena apologized.

“It’s no problem.” Trudie assured her. “Um, just a surprise though. I haven’t thought about Isobel in years.”

“When was the last time you saw her?” Ellie asked curiously.

“About seventeen years ago.” Trudie told her. “When she left to go have the two of you. We kept in touch for a while, but, well, you know, people drift apart.”

“And you don’t know where she ended up?” Elena asked.

“She was in Florida for a while. She was on her own. I know it wasn’t easy.”

“Do you have any idea who our father is?” Elena questioned.

Trudie paused for a moment, before smiling and admitting, “I could never get her to fess up. Anyway, she finally pulled it together, got into college on a scholarship.”

“Where did she go?” Ellie asked.

“Somewhere in North Carolina. Duke, I think. Smart girl, smart school.” Trudie told them as the kettle started to whistle. “Let me just grab that.”

“I can’t believe we’re finally getting answers.” Ellie whispered as she reached over to grab Elena’s hand to squeeze it. When Trudie returned she handed them both a cup of tea, and Ellie blew lightly on it before taking a sip. “This is a neat flavor.” She commented with a smile.

“I’m glad you like it.” Trudie told her.

“Um, we managed to find an alumni website… it had a picture of you and Isobel as cheerleaders?” Ellie mentioned and Trudie smiled before she stood again.

Trudie was back a moment later, yearbook in hand. It didn’t take long for her to open it to a page that had the same photo that they’d seen on the website. “Ah. They came to the games for us. The football team hadn’t won in years. We were the stars. Well, Izzie was but I was a damn good backup.”

“Heh, this is great. Thank you.” Elena told her.

“You’re welcome.” Trudie said.

“Elena and I are actually cheerleaders too, well Elena’s taking a break from it but I’m still one.” Ellie told the blonde.

“Really? I’m sure you two must be amazing cheerleaders like she was.” Trudie praised. “You haven’t touched your tea.” She said to Elena, who’s cup remained untouched despite Ellie’s being emptied already.

“Oh, yeah.” Elena replied as she picked up her cup.

“Excuse me, but where’s your restroom? I think I’ve had a bit too much to drink.” Ellie asked.

“It’s just down the hall to the left right there.” Trudie said.

“Thank you.” Ellie stood and headed for the direction Trudie had pointed her too.

As she left she could hear Elena asking, “What is this?”

She found the bathroom easily enough and finished quickly. Once she’d washed her hands she pulled out her phone to call Bonnie. Like Elena, Ellie was met with Bonnie’s cheerful voice telling her to leave a message. “Hey Bon, I know Elena called you a little bit ago, but I wanted to call and tell you I love you a lot and if you need anything, let me know. I hope to hear from you soon Bon.” It was hard to go a while without talking to Bonnie when they normally spent so much time together. Even when Ellie and Elena’s parents died, Bonnie had spent a great deal of time with them, never leaving them alone for long. Caroline had been the other constant, for the first few days she hadn’t even let Ellie go to the bathroom alone, waiting patiently outside the door in case the emotions had overwhelmed her friend.

Shaking her head to get out of her thoughts, Ellie walked back into the kitchen to see both Elena and Trudie standing. “Here Ellie.” Elena said as she passed her the coat she’d been wearing.

Ellie could almost feel the tension in the room like it was a physical thing. “Is everything alright?” She asked, but slid her coat on anyway. Trudie looked terribly nervous, almost frightened. But what on earth could Elena have done to get that reaction out of the older woman?

“Um, yeah, we just have to go now.” Elena said. “Let’s go.”

“Ok… uh, thank you for letting us talk to you. It was really great to get to know a little more about Isobel.” Ellie said politely as she held a hand out for Trudie to shake. The other woman did so, and Ellie could feel the blonde’s hand tremble just a bit when Ellie grabbed her hand. “Sorry again for barging in. We’ll be going now.”

Trudie nodded. “Thank you. Goodbye.”

With that Elena practically dragged Ellie out of the house as she zipped up her jacket. “Elena what the hell happened when I went to the bathroom?” Ellie questioned. “Trudie looked like she’d seen a ghost or something.”

“I don’t know.” Elena told her as they approached the car. Something dark on the road behind them caught Ellie’s eye and she looked up to see a man standing in the middle of the road, just staring at them.

“Elena.” Ellie warned, her voice low. Her sister looked up at the call of her name and saw Ellie’s face drained of color. She followed Ellie’s line of vision and also saw the man standing there ominously. “Get in the car.” Ellie whispered and the two girls scrambled inside the vehicle. The moment the car started up, the man started walking towards them. “Elena, go, go, go.” Elena sped down the road, heading back to Mystic Falls. “God what the hell was that?” Ellie asked as she looked out the back window to make sure the guy didn’t somehow manage to follow them.

“I have no idea.” Elena said, clearly shaken by the man as well.

“Are you sure you don’t know what happened back there with Trudie? It’s just a little weird that the mood totally changed by the time I got back.” Ellie pressed, curious for answers.

Her twin was definitely sketchy with the way she answered. “I really don’t know Ellie. Maybe talking about Isobel got her upset? I mean if we lost Bon suddenly don’t you think it would be a little hard to talk about her too?” Elena asked. Something was off. That much was clear, but Ellie couldn’t figure out what it was. Elena didn’t say much else the rest of the way home, which left Ellie to stew in her thoughts. 

No matter what potential reason she came up with to dismiss Trudie’s odd behavior, nothing seemed to sit right with her. It also didn’t help that ever since the school year had started, Elena almost always seemed sketchy. Did it have something to do with Elena then? But Elena’s never really done anything. She was lost in thought and didn’t even realize how long it had been until she felt a tap on her arm. “Hmm? What is it?”

“We’re home. Don’t you need to be getting to The Grill?” Elena asked.

Glancing down at the time, her eyes went wide. “Crap, yeah I do. Aren’t you coming?”

“I am. I just need to swing by Stefan’s first to talk to him. I’ll see you there?” Elena said.

“Yeah, ok, just don’t be late.” Ellie said as she stepped out of the car and rushed over to her own. Elena pulled out first and turned to head towards Stefan’s as Ellie turned on her car and blasted the heat to fight the chill that made the inside of her car feel like a freezer. She drove quickly, hoping that she wasn’t late for anything. By the time she arrived there were several cars already parked at The Grill, but she managed to find a spot next to Caroline’s car. “Hey, hey, am I late?”

Caroline looked up from where she was putting money in the box and smiled at her. “No, you’re good. But you will  _ never _ believe what happened.” Caroline told her and Ellie sat down on the stool next to her.

“What happened?” Ellie asked.

“Ok, so me and Matt were at his house and we were watching football-” Caroline started and laughed when Ellie made a face at the sound of watching football. “Yeah I know right? I don’t know how guys watch football on tv it is sooo boring. But anyways, I told him I was bored, and then reminded him that we had the house to ourselves, you know.”

“How scandalous.” Ellie teased.

The blonde scoffed and said, “Yeah for like five seconds. I mean we were both topless and then his mom of all people walks in on us.”

“Oh my god  _ no _ ! Kelly did not walk in on you guys!” Ellie said in shock. “The odds of that happening were literally slim to none. You must have been mortified.”

“Mortified doesn’t even cover it.” Caroline groaned. “I swear I think she hates me.”

“How could anyone hate someone as amazing as you, Care?” Ellie asked softly, slinging an arm over her blonde friend’s shoulder. “You’re a catch.” She assured her. “I’m sure everything will be fine. Besides, I think Matt really likes you a lot.”

“I still wish Mrs. Donovan wouldn’t hate me.” Caroline whined.

“Would you like something to distract you?” Ellie asked.

“Yes please.”

“Ok, so you know how we told you that me and Elena were adopted?” Ellie questioned. Once Caroline nodded, Ellie said, “Well, Jenna did some digging and found out who our birth mother is.” Caroline was clearly shocked and Ellie nodded. “I know right? Turns out she got pregnant as a teenager and managed to find my dad and he delivered me and Elena. She was from Grove Hill  _ and _ she was a cheerleader too.”

“That’s insane. How did Jenna figure it out?”

“Dad was super meticulous about record keeping. Jenna found an appointment book with an entry on the night Elena and I were born. We were to talk with our birth mom’s childhood best friend to try and find out more.” Ellie said.

“How did that go?” Caroline asked as she adjusted the tickets on the counter.

“It was going fine and then I went to the bathroom and when I came back, there was this weird tension and Elena and I had to leave. I don’t know what happened and Elena didn’t really explain anything either. But apparently, our birth mom might have gone to Duke.”

Their conversation was interrupted by Mrs. Lockwood using the microphone to say, “Tickets for the raffle are now on sale. All proceeds benefit the annual Founder’s Day Celebration.”

Ellie spotted Mr. Saltzman talking with Jenna and her heart ached with sympathy for him. He had been married to Isobel and had to deal with that loss seemingly alone. Now he had the bomb dropped on him that his wife had daughters he never knew about. He and Jenna looked slightly uncomfortable, but Ellie still thought that Jenna had done the right thing by telling him the truth. Her favorite aunt made her way to the tickets and handed Caroline some money. “Hey, Jenna. How’d that go?” Ellie asked as Caroline passed Jenna two tickets.

“About as well as could be expected. He needs time. I get it.” Jenna confessed. “Do you think I did the right thing by telling him?”

“Absolutely, he deserves the truth. Even if it isn’t pleasant. I’m sure he appreciated the honesty.” Ellie assured her. “Hopefully you’ll get the winning number and get a date with him to smooth everything over.” She said with an over dramatic wink.

“You are something else Ellie. I think I’m gonna get myself a drink.” Jenna laughed before walking off to the bar.

“What was that about?” Caroline asked curiously.

Despite Caroline being her best friend, Ellie decided it would probably be better to keep the fact that Mr. Saltzman was her birth mother’s husband to herself. At least until she could talk to him about it. “Just boy drama with her and Mr. Saltzman. She had to tell him something that took him by surprise I guess.”

“Honesty is definitely better.” Caroline agreed. “Hey Matt.”

Matt walked over to them with a smile, pressing a kiss to Caroline’s cheek. “Hey, Care. Hey, Ellie. How are ticket sales going?”

“Pretty good, we’ve made a good bit so far.” Caroline told him. “Have you been having fun with all your fans?” She asked teasingly.

He groaned but smiled at her. “Oh yeah, loving it.” He said sarcastically.

“Loving what?” Elena asked as she walked up to them.

“All his fans apparently.” Ellie supplied.

“He’s already been hit on like thirty five times.” Caroline told them. “He’s total cougar bait.”

“Impressive.” Elena and Ellie replied.

“More like embarrassing.” Matt said but he was grinning at Caroline.

Caroline laughed but stopped suddenly to say, “Hi, Mrs. Donovan.”

Mrs. Donovan ignored her greeting to smile brightly at Elena and say, “Elena, honey. Ellie, honey.”

“Hi, Kelly.” Elena beamed as she hugged the older woman and Ellie gave Kelly a smile before hugging her as well.

“Long time no see.” Kelly told them.

“How are you doing?” Elena asked her, but Ellie focused on how Caroline looked rejected as she watched Elena and Kelly interact.

“Same old.” Kelly told her. “Oh, Matty tells me you broke his heart.”

“Mom.” Matt warned.

“Just kidding.” Kelly grinned. “Calm down. He found his rebound girl.” She said as she glanced over to Caroline as Ellie tensed. Even if it was the parent of one of her friends she didn’t take lightly to people insulting Caroline for no reason. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up with you Ellie. You and Matty have always been so close, even when he and Elena were together. You’d make a good couple just like he and Elena did.” There was nothing Ellie could even think of saying. She and Matt had only ever been friends so she had no clue why Kelly would even suggest them being together. “Oh, here you go, sweetheart. However many that’ll buy. I just hope I don’t get bachelor three. I dated him in high school. Not impressive. In any way.” Caroline handed Kelly a strip of four tickets and the woman replied, “Very exciting.”

Caroline’s smile faded as the woman walked off and Ellie watched as Elena’s posture shifted. She noticed Mr. Saltzman a split second later and grabbed a hold of Elena’s forearm as he walked farther away from them. “Elena I know you want more about her, but give him some time. He didn’t know about us either.” Ellie told her softly.

“He didn’t?” Elena asked.

“Nope. Jenna told him earlier and he was totally clueless. So maybe give him some time to process that Isobel had twins she never told him about. We’ve had time to process it. He hasn’t.” Ellie explained. 

“Yeah. You’re right.” Elena said. “I’m gonna go find Jenna.”

“Ok. See you later.” Ellie said as Elena walked into the crowd to find their aunt. She turned back to Caroline and grinned. “Hey, Care Bear, do you still have the other half of Kelly’s tickets?”

Caroline frowned but nodded. “Yeah, here they are.” She said as she offered up the strand of tickets. Ellie snatched them from her hands and scanned over the numbers. “What are you doing?”

“Oh don’t worry about it.” Ellie said secretively. “Oh look, you have customers hoping to be the lucky lady to one of these bachelors. Hi would you guys like to buy some tickets? Caroline will help you with that.” Ellie walked off before Caroline could question her further.

She looked around for Mrs. Lockwood and found her talking to the Salvatore she hated the most. Thankfully, just before she reached them, he looked off at something at the other side of The Grill and said, “Pardon me.” 

Once he walked away, Ellie walked up to Mrs. Lockwood with a grin. “I know that face Ellie. You’re up to something.”

Ellie gave her a saccharine smile. “Mrs. Lockwood would you mind doing me a small favor?”

The older woman just sighed and gave the young girl a smile. “What can I do for you, Ellie?”

“Well, you’re no fan of Kelly Donovan and while she’s normally nice enough to me, she happened to say a few things that rubbed me the wrong way.” Ellie said, with an expression of pure innocence. “And I do happen to know that she really doesn’t want bachelor three. And I  _ happen _ to have the other half of her tickets.”

Mrs. Lockwood reached over and pulled off one of the tickets. “Well, bachelor number three it is. Go put the rest of those in with the mix. But if I’m doing you a favor, then I need you to do me a favor.”

Laughing brightly, Ellie nodded. “What can I do for  _ you _ Mrs. Lockwood?” She asked.

Producing some cash she told the teen, “Get me however many tickets that’ll buy and then bring me both halves for one of those.” She winked at Ellie and the Gilbert nodded in understanding. “Thank you honey.” Ellie went back over to where Caroline was still selling tickets and handed over the money.

“I’m pretty sure like all these guys are too old for you.” Caroline laughed.

“It’s not for me, idiot. It’s for Mrs. Lockwood. She asked me to get her some tickets. So how many does that get her?”

“Three tickets. Here you go. Will you put the other half in the raffle thing?” Caroline asked.

“Sure thing. Just let me take these to Mrs. Lockwood.” Ellie said as she slyly kept what Mrs. Lockwood would need to get a date with whichever bachelor she wanted. “Here you go, Mrs. Lockwood. It is always a pleasure doing business with you.” She said with a grin.

“I swear sometimes I don’t know who’s more trouble, you or Tyler.” Mrs. Lockwood said.

“Oh, he’s big competition maybe I need to step my game up.” Ellie joked.

* * *

After a while they were finally going through the introductions for the bachelors. They were on the one Kelly didn’t want as Mrs. Lockwood asked, “And what do you do bachelor number three?”

“Yeah, I’m a plumber.”

“Well, isn’t that wonderful?” Mrs. Lockwood asked but it was more than clear that she wasn’t all that impressed. “We could always use more plumbers. Moving on.”

“Oh look it’s your man, Jenna.” Ellie teased, bumping shoulders with her aunt.

“Hush.” Jenna said, focused intently on the bachelor on stage.

“Number four, Alaric Satlzman. Wow, that’s quite a mouthful.” Mrs. Lockwood said as Elena also bumped shoulders with Jenna. All three of them were grinning. “What do you do, Alaric?”

“I’m a teacher at Mystic Falls High.”

“Oh, beauty and brains, ladies. This one’s a keeper. What do you teach?” She asked.

“History.”

“History. Oh, well, give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls, something crazy.” She prompted. He looked over at Damon who was waiting with a look of fake interest on his face. After he kind of hesitated, Mrs. Lockwood saved him, “He’s probably saving the best stories for his date.” Stepping over, she said, “And last, but not least, Damon Salvatore. We don’t have much on you.”

“Well, I’m tough to fit on a card.” He said smoothly. 

“Do you have any hobbies? Like to travel?” Mrs. Lockwood suggested.

“Oh yeah, LA, New York. Couple of years ago, I was in North Carolina.” Damon said. Ellie looked up sharply, focusing on him instead of ignoring him like she’d been trying to do. “Near the Duke campus, actually. I think… I think Alaric went to school there. Didn’t you, Ric?” When he didn’t reply, Damon continued. “Yeah, cause I- I know your wife did. I had a drink with her once. She was- she was a great girl. I ever tell you that? Cause she was… she- delicious.” Ellie suddenly felt nauseous at the thought of Damon and her birth mother together in any sense of the word.

Elena also looked entirely horrified, maybe even more so than Ellie. “Are the two of you ok?” Jenna asked carefully.

“I just need some air.” Elena said, standing suddenly and walking away quickly.

“Do you want to go with her?” Jenna asked.

“Stefan went with her. She’ll be fine. I think I might throw up though.” Ellie said as she put her head down on the table. She could feel Jenna rubbing her head and she was grateful for her wonderful aunt. 

She only looked back up once the bachelors were getting matched with dates. “And bachelor number three goes to three seven four five eight.”

Bless that Mrs. Lockwood because Kelly’s unimpressed voice cut through the crowd. “That’s me.”

“Ah, Kelly Donovan. Lovely.” Mrs. Lockwood said sarcastically as Kelly snatched the other half of her ticket out of Mrs. Lockwood’s hand. “You and the plumber should have so much fun.” Once Kelly had walked off, Mrs. Lockwood put her hand back in the container and pulled out a ticket. “And bachelor number four, Alaric Satlzman, goes to three seven six four nine.”

“That’s me.” Jenna announced and Ellie couldn’t help but smile as her aunt happily walked towards the stage.

It made Ellie really happy to see the way Mr. Saltzman was smiling too. “Congratulations.” Mrs. Lockwood said sincerely. “And bachelor number five, Damon Salvatore. Three seven five five two. Would you look at that? Three seven five five two. What are the chances? Me. Where’d he go?”

Since the last of the bachelors had been paired off, Ellie walked over to where Jenna and Caroline were. “Hey, Jenna, I think I’m gonna go home and go to bed. I’m still feeling pretty sick to my stomach.” Ellie told her.

Jenna looked incredibly sympathetic and nodded. “Ok, get home safely. I’ll see you at home in a bit.”

“Ok, love you guys.” Ellie said to both blondes. The ride home was quick and she undressed as quickly as possible, getting into pajamas and under the covers as fast as she could. The thought of Damon doing anything with her birth mother caused the sick feeling to follow her into her dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Happy Ramadan to those of you that celebrate it! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and please leave a comment and let me know what you thought.
> 
> Posted: 5/15/20


	16. There Goes The Neighborhood

**Chapter 16: There Goes The Neighborhood**

_ January 15, 2010 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ So apparently Damon and my birth mother may or may not have had a thing. As you can guess I’m royally disgusted and actually got sick to my stomach. Elena looked pretty unsettled by it too. But, Jenna scored Mr. Satlzman as her bachelor. I hope they work everything out really soon. I would hate for it to get messed up when he’s such a good guy. _

“So did you and Mr. Saltzman go out after the bachelor fundraiser thing?” Ellie asked curiously as she flipped a pancake.

Jenna sighed and shook her head. “No. I think there was something he had to go and do. But he didn’t seem as awkward with me. Hopefully he’s had some time to adjust to everything.”

“I’m sure everything with you two will get back to normal soon. I think he likes you too much for it to not.” Ellie said confidently. “Plus he did seem pretty pleased for you to be the one that got him in the raffle.”

“You think?” Jenna asked.

“Oh, I know.” Ellie replied. “Here’s some pancakes. Do you think Elena and Jer will be down soon? I don’t want their food to get cold.”

“Yeah probably.” Jenna said. “Oh, by the way, I had someone reach out to me saying they were interested in buying your dad’s old medical building. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to show them the building. You were always interested in learning little stuff about the building.”

“Someone wants to buy dad’s medical building?” Ellie asked in surprise.

“I completely forgot to tell you I’d put it up for sale. I’m sorry. Is that ok with you? Selling the building? I know you guys used to play there a lot.” Jenna apologized.

“No, it’s fine Jen. it’s not like any of us have a use for it. And if the person who wants it has good intentions for it then I’m ok with that.” Ellie assured her. “But yes, I’d love to come with you to meet them. You got a name for them?”

“A woman. Her name’s Pearl.” Jenna said as Jeremy came down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“That’s a nice name. Morning Jer, pancakes?”

“Yes please. Do we have any strawberries?” He asked.

“Some are already cut up and in the mix, the rest are in the fridge. Is Elena gonna be down soon?” Ellie asked.

“I think so. She was putting on makeup when I came down.” Jeremy said as he took a seat next to Jenna.

“Ok, then she’ll probably be down soon. Here you go.” She said as she passed the stack of pancakes to Jeremy. “So dearest brother of mine, anything new with you?”

“Nah, not really. But I have managed to get most of my grades back up to where they’re not horrible.” Jeremy said through a mouthful of pancakes.

“That’s great, Jeremy.” Jenna praised. “I’m really proud of you for working so hard to fix them.”

“I’m also proud. You should be very proud of yourself.” Ellie told him. “Good morning twin, pancakes? You have no choice but to say yes, since I’ve already made them for you.”

Elena just laughed as she said, “Pancakes would be great, thanks. Jenna can you pass the syrup?”

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.” Elena said as Ellie put another pancake in the stack for herself. “Ellie, are you good to drive yourself to school? I’ve got a few things I have to do.”

“Yeah that’s fine. Jer, do you want a ride?” Ellie said.

“That would be great, thanks.” He said. The rest of their breakfast was filled with easy conversation and once they finished, the three teenagers grabbed their bags as Jenna put the dishes into the dishwasher. Elena pulled out first and Jeremy and Ellie followed behind her a moment later. 

The ride to the school was a quick one and the siblings went their separate ways. “See you later, Jer.” She said as he walked off. “Hey loser.” She greeted as she looped her arm through Tyler’s.

“Ouch, I’m wounded.” He said sarcastically.

“How are things in hell?” She asked as they went over to his locker. 

“Oh you know, same old same old. Dad’s still a dick, and I avoid him at all costs.” Tyler replied as he pulled out his textbook. 

“Don’t forget that my offer to sneak you into the house still stands whenever you need it.” She told him. “Or if you just don’t want to be at home.”

“Thanks, Ellie.” He said gratefully. “Might take you up on that at some point.”

“We can watch a movie at my place.” Matt was saying, drawing the attention of Tyler and Ellie as they focused on the two blondes.

“Uh, with your mom? And a six pack?” Caroline said sarcastically.

“You know, you don’t really help the situation.” Matt told her. “You could at least try to be nice.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s hard for me to show kindness to people that  _ hate _ me. I’m not that evolved.” She told him. When Matt’s attention was focused on something behind Caroline, she, along with Tyler and Ellie, turned to see what it was. Of course, it was Elena laughing as she and Stefan kissed. “So, a movie tonight?”

“Whatever you want to do is fine by me. But I’m late and I got to go, ok?”

“Ok.”

“Bye.” Matt said and walked off despite Caroline having moved forward to kiss him.

“Ouch, that’s rough.” Tyler said.

“Lockwood, I will kill you in your sleep, shut up.” Ellie hissed as she hit his arm. “Your commentary is not helpful nor wanted.” She watched Caroline just sighed and put on a fake smile and walked away. “Does Matt really not get it?” She asked.

“Look, I know you’re protective of Caroline, but we all know that Matt’s not totally over Elena. He probably never will be.” Tyler said. For once, offering a genuine opinion instead of a sarcastic remark. “Matt was pretty much madly in love with Elena, even I could see it. Who knows how long it’ll take for him to get over it, if he ever gets over it.”

“Well that sucks.” Ellie huffed.

“Yeah, yeah, everything sucks.” He retorted.

“I think I’m gonna go find Caroline, see if I can help.” Ellie told him. He nodded in understanding as she walked off in the direction that she’d seen Caroline go. It took awhile but she finally found the blonde staring into her locker and shaking her head. “Need help?” She asked softly. Caroline turned in surprise and Ellie confessed. “Saw the whole thing with Matt and the whole staring at Elena thing. Anything I can do?”

“I need a way to make Matt see that Elena and Stefan are good together. And that he and I are good together. So that he realizes that he’s not supposed to be with Elena, he’s supposed to be with me.” Caroline whined. 

“So you want him to be able to see you guys as a couple and Elena and Stefan as a couple at the same time?” Ellie asked. Caroline nodded and Ellie continued, “Like you guys on a date?”

“Oh my god. That’s it!” Caroline said excitedly.

“Wait what?”

“We need to go on a double date. So that he can see that Elena and Stefan are supposed to be together and me and Matt are supposed to be together.” Caroline said excitedly and she slammed her locker shut, walking down the hall with purpose.

“Wait! Caroline!” Ellie called as she rushed after the blonde. She couldn’t help but think that there was no way that this was going to end well.

She caught up with Caroline, but the blonde had already set her sights on Stefan and Elena standing at Stefan’s locker. “Hey guys.” Caroline greeted cheerfully. “I was wondering if you guys wanted to do something with me and Matt tonight.” She started. “I’m thinking nothing huge, just dinner at The Grill, maybe a late movie.”

“You mean like a double date?” Stefan asked as he put his books into his bag.

“Two pair out on a Friday night, coupled. Yeah, a double date.” Caroline confirmed.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Elena asked skeptically.

“Why not?” Caroline asked. “And we all haven’t gone out together before and I don’t want it to be uncomfortable for us. Look, the couple dynamics have changed, and there’s been a little awkwardness between you, Matt, and me, and I just think it’s important that we get over it.”

“I don’t know.” Elena told her.

“You know what? I… I think that sounds like a great idea.” Stefan told her. Ellie’s eyes went wide in surprise.

“You do?” Elena questioned.

“Yeah. yeah, a nice evening out with friends. Sounds fun, as in  _ fun _ .”

He must have been referencing some conversation he and Elena must have had because she grinned and said, “A double date it is.”

“Ok. So, we will see you tonight.” 

“Ok.”

“Ok.” Caroline said excitedly as she pulled Ellie to walk away.

“I’m definitely not sure that this is going to end well.” Ellie warned her.

“Everything will be fine. I’m sure of it.” Caroline insisted, but Ellie thought there was a chance that it was just wishful thinking on the blonde’s part.

* * *

After school, Ellie met Jenna at The Grill. “So when are we going to meet this Miss Pearl?” Ellie asked as she took a sip of her drink.

“Um, I was thinking we’d walk over in a few minutes. We have time to eat though.” Jenna said as she dug into her fries. “How was school?”

“It was school. But apparently Elena and Stefan are going on a double date with Caroline and Matt.” She said and Jenna made a face at the news. “I know, that’s what I was thinking.”

“Do they really think that that’s the best idea? I mean Matt was pretty head over heels for Elena.” Jenna asked.

“It was Caroline’s idea. I think Kelly’s whole statement about Caroline just being the rebound girl has really gotten under her skin.” Ellie confessed. “I just hope it goes well.” They finished eating quickly and once they paid, they walked over to the building. “I just realized I haven’t been here since...”

“Are you ok? Do you want to leave?” Jenna asked worriedly.

“No, I’m fine. I just needed a moment.” Ellie told her. Jenna nodded and gave her a bit of space, looking through the book she’d brought with her.

“Miss Sommers?” A woman called and they both turned around to see a nicely dressed woman and Anna by her side.

“Yes? Hi. Pearl?” Jenna asked as she held a hand out for Pearl to shake.

“Hi.” Pearl said warmly. “This is my daughter Annabelle.”

“Of course, Jeremy’s friend. This is my niece, Ellie. This was her dad’s building.” Jenna introduced and Ellie held out her hand to shake.

“Nice to see you, Miss Sommers.” Anna said.

“Oh, Jenna, please.” Jenna told her.

“It’s nice to meet you ma’am.” Ellie said politely. Pearl looked surprised, but Ellie didn’t say anything about it. “Hey Anna.” Ellie said brightly as she moved over to hug the other girl. “I thought you guys were leaving town?”

Anna smiled warmly at her. “Change of plans I guess.”

“This property was in my brother-in-law’s family for generations. It’s uh, one of the original structures in Mystic Falls. It used to be one of those old-fashioned drug store thingies.” Jenna told them as she pulled the keys out of her pocket.

“You mean an apothecary?” Pearl asked.

“Yeah.”

“You don’t say.” Pearl told her.

“Sorry if it’s musty. No one’s been in here for months.” Jenna apologized.

“I’ll use my imagination.” Pearl assured her. Ellie turned back to see Anna staring at Jeremy who was walking down the street with his headphones in. “Annabelle.” Pearl called.

“Coming mother.” Anna said as she turned to follow them inside. 

Ellie walked in after Anna and while Jenna and Pearl talked she whispered to Anna, “You should go see him. I’m sure he’d be excited that you’re staying.”

“You think so?” Anna whispered back.

“He’ll be pretty surprised, but I think he’d be glad you’re staying.” Ellie said.

“Hey, Ellie, you know the fun facts about this place, what can you tell us?” Jenna asked.

Smiling, Ellie said, “Well, from what I know, this was originally an apothecary run by a woman back in during the Civil War. I suppose she must have sold it to a Gilbert because it’s been in our family since around that time as well. But from what I know, everyone bought from this place for all their medical needs.”

“Fascinating.” Pearl said as she walked through the space. “This really is a lovely space and I am very interested in purchasing it.” She told Jenna.

“That’s fantastic. Feel free to continue looking around.” Jenna said as she and Pearl walked further into the building. It wasn’t long before Pearl and Jenna came back, both looking like they were in good spirits. “I’ll get the paperwork set up and get it to you as soon as I can.” She told the other woman.

“Wonderful. It is a pleasure doing business with you Miss Sommers.” Pearl said as she shook Jenna’s hand again. “Come along Annabelle.” 

“Bye Miss Sommers. Bye Ellie.” Anna said as she followed after her mother.

“I think that went really well.” Jenna told Ellie excitedly. “She’s willing to pay a pretty penny for this place.”

“That’s great Jenna. She seemed like she really wanted this place. Anything in particular you want to do now?” Ellie asked.

“I think that I am going to get myself a celebratory drink back at The Grill.” Jenna told her as they locked up the building.

“Well since I am definitely not old enough for that, I’ll walk back with you and then head out.” Ellie said as she looped her arm through Jenna’s. “You gonna be ok solo drinking?” She joked.

“I’ll be fine.” Jenna joked as they crossed the street.

“Have fun. Don’t get totally wasted.” Ellie warned playfully as Jenna went on inside. She sat in her car for a moment thinking about what she wanted before putting the car in reverse and drove off in a familiar direction. The abandoned house was familiar by now as she walked inside. She was nervous, having not been back since the unexpected death of Grams. As she walked into the room where she practiced, the flames shot to life.

“You have not visited in a while.” Emily said.

Ellie wanted to cry. The pain that came with the loss of Grams mixed with the pain of losing her parents and it made her feel like there was a hole in her chest. “Do you know what happened?” She sat near the flames to try and keep warm.

“Yes.” Emily replied. “I am aware.”

“She shouldn’t have died.” Ellie said helplessly.

“No. She shouldn’t have.” Emily agreed. “But there was nothing you could have done to prevent her death.” Ellie wasn’t sure if that made her feel any better about the situation.

“I could have done something if I was stronger. If I had known something was wrong.” Ellie argued. There was a murmur that surrounded her. Voices of the other witches that had passed but they were never quite loud enough for her to separate them.

“Tears will not make you stronger.” Emily told her. “If you let it, you will drown yourself in tears. If you want to be stronger then  _ get up _ and get stronger.” Ellie wiped her eyes and stood up. She couldn’t lose any more people. “How strong do you want to be?”

“Strong enough to protect the people I care about.” Ellie told her.

“Then you won’t be learning healing spells today.” Emily said. “Today is about how strong you are. If there were ever an occasion where you needed to protect yourself or others, one of the most important things to be able to do is deflection. You need to be able to protect yourself from both objects and people. You need to know how long you can hold out. Now you protect yourself from getting hit.”

“Hit with what?” The words had barely come out of Ellie’s mouth before she spotted a candle holder flying at her with a great deal of force behind it. Her surprised scream filled the room as her hand flung out and sent the candle holder flying back to the other side of the room. “What the hell?”

“When your life is truly in danger there is no warning. They won’t announce that they are about to attack you. So neither will I. Protect yourself.” Emily told her. Ellie steadied herself and when a broken piece of floorboard flew her way she held out her hand and pushed back with her own magic causing it to drop to the floor. The next attack came from behind her. There was a split second of fear when she saw the brick aimed for her head but she took it down as well. Something that looked like glass or a mirror flew at her next. Multiple small pieces at once. There was more force behind it, making it harder to stop. It dropped to the ground loudly, breaking even more. “I’m going to make this harder. You might come across people much stronger than you that wouldn’t hesitate to kill you.”

A metal rod flew at her. The force was more than she expected. “ _ Motus! _ ” She yelled and the rod flew back. The verbal spell was much stronger than her non-verbal version. Ellie could almost hear the other spirits whispering around her and if she had to guess it probably wasn’t a good thing. The air around shifted with energy. They were doing something but she wasn’t quite sure what. Suddenly several objects floated up and with a quick look she realized that they had circled her. The objects all moved at once, rushing towards her. “ _ Phasmatos Motus! _ ” She shouted with force as she slung both of her hands out to her sides. It was like the objects hit an invisible wall. They slammed into something she couldn’t see before falling to the ground.

The whispering of the ghosts returned just before Emily said, “Very good. Like with all magic, the more you practice the stronger it becomes. Given that you haven’t shown any indication to anyone that you are a witch, it gives you the element of surprise. That can save your life. Or someone else’s. Now close your eyes. If you can  _ feel _ the magic it can be even more beneficial.”

“Like what I felt just before all those things came at me?” Ellie asked.

“What did you feel?”

“It almost felt like a shiver down my spine. Like the air shifted or something. The way you can sometimes feel a storm coming before it arrives.” Ellie explained.

“Good. That’s what you should feel. Now close your eyes.” Emily told her. The young witch forced her nerves down and did as told. “I’m going to make something float. I want you to reach out with your energy and find it.” Ellie felt uneasy. The witch couldn’t help but be worried that she wouldn’t sense it and end up getting hit. Despite that, she tried her best to find the object. She had never done anything like this in the time that she’d learned of her magic. After a few moments, she felt something behind her. Not quite like what she’d felt before, but it was something similar.

She walked towards it. Her eyes stayed firmly shut but she held up a tentative hand and followed the pull of the magic. When her hand hit something that didn’t feel like a wall, she opened her eyes to see a rock floating at eye level. “Holy shit.” Ellie whispered, surprised that it had worked. “That’s so cool.”

“Good job.” Emily praised. “The more familiar you are with what magic feels like the easier it becomes to detect. Like recognizing a familiar scent.” At Emily’s command, they did it again. Once Ellie managed to find it, they did it again. They practiced over and over for her to sense where the objects were. Then they would have her open her eyes and deflect the objects. The repetition made it feel like time was flying by as well as going incredibly slow. It also made Ellie feel as if she’d run several miles. She’d never exerted this much energy for her magic before. It truly felt like a workout and after a while she dropped down to the ground as she tried to catch her breath. 

“Dear god.” She gasped as she pressed a hand to her chest. Her heartbeat hammered against her hand. “That’s intense.” Ellie said as she let herself fall back so that she could lay down. 

“But you did well. You should be proud of yourself.” Emily said warmly. A moment later it felt like the tension in Ellie’s body had broken as her breathing calmed and her erratic heartbeat slowed. She realized that the witches were taking care of her and she relaxed into their magic.

“Thank you.” Ellie said softly. It had only been a few minutes of rest before the sound of her ringer disrupted her peace. “What do you want?”

_ “Ouch. Hello to you too Ellie.” _ Tyler replied with a laugh.

She scoffed before repeating, “What do you want?”

_ “Oh, I just figured you’d want to know that I’m witnessing not one trainwreck but two.” _ He explained.

Ellie sat up, curious as to what he was talking about. “Huh? What do you mean?”

_ “I happen to be at The Grill, where Elena and Stefan are… with Matt and Caroline. And if that trainwreck isn’t enough, your Aunt Jenna partying it up with Stefan’s older brother and Matt’s mom might be.” _

“Please tell me you’re kidding. Drinking with Kelly is one thing, but Damon? Gross.” Ellie groaned.

_ “Wanna come watch the show with me?” _ Tyler teased.  _ “If we’re lucky, we might see Caroline develop the ability to actually burn holes through Elena’s head with how hard she’s glaring.” _

That was enough for Ellie to stand to leave. She knew how badly Caroline wanted this date to go right. “Oh that’s not good. Ok, I’ll be there shortly.”

_ “Alright. I’m in a booth in the back left.” _

“Ok, see you soon.” Ellie said as she hung up the phone. “Um, thank you guys, for this today. I really have to be going though.”

“Until next time.” Emily said as a farewell. Ellie nodded and rushed up the stairs to get to her car. It was extremely dark when she went outside, which meant she’d been there far longer than she’d realized. The drive to The Grill wasn’t too long and she was quick to find a parking spot.

When she got to the door, she stepped in trying to make as little noise as possible. The four on the double date were at the pool table and talking. She moved over to where Tyler was, luckily without being spotted by any of them. “How bad is it?” She asked him worriedly.

“Honestly, since I’ve been here there’s been a lot of lingering looks between Elena and Matt.” He confessed. Tyler wasn’t really one to get very involved with the relationships of other people, but he also knew that Ellie tried to look out for the blonde cheerleader.

Ellie groaned as she shot her sister a dirty look. “Damn it, Elena.” She sighed. “Sometimes I swear Elena is oblivious to what she’s doing.” She couldn’t quite hear what they were saying but she watched as Caroline busted out laughing at something Matt had said. From what she could see, Elena and Matt were going back and forth talking. It seemed like they were explaining something that had happened to Stefan, but Ellie watched as Caroline’s smile faded away.

“Honestly, I get Matt probably still has feelings for your sister, but even I know that looking at your ex like that while your new girlfriend is right there isn’t the best idea.” Tyler told her right before Caroline started to move. Elena followed after her as she passed and Ellie watched them head for the restroom.

“Should I intervene?” Ellie asked as she tapped the tabletop nervously.

“Would it really help anything? I don’t know all the details of the girl world but isn’t this something they have to deal with themselves?” Tyler asked.

“You know, sometimes you have moments of giving really good advice.” She told him. “I just don’t like not being able to help.” Her attention was drawn to where Stefan was taking a shot, sinking a ball into a pocket with ease. “I mean what am I supposed to do? Elena’s my sister, my twin, but Caroline is my best friend and I don’t know how to help.”

Tyler shrugged as he offered her a french fry. “I don’t know. Maybe when you really need to do something it’ll hit you and you just know. You’re typically the one between us that has it together.”

“I hope so.” She told him. She spotted Caroline coming out of the restroom, Elena just behind her. A man suddenly grabbed Elena’s arm and stopped her and Ellie jolted and sat straight up. She had never seen that man before. Why the hell was he grabbing Elena? “Who is that?” Tyler must have noticed that something had her on edge, because he too sat up straighter and looked where she looked.

“I have no idea but I don’t like that he’s grabbing on your sister like that.” Tyler told her. Caroline called out to her friend, and the person had no choice but to let her go. Stefan wrapped his arm around Elena when she got back to him, unaware of what had just happened. 

“Remind me to get Caroline like a gift basket or something. I really don’t like the vibe I got from that guy.” Ellie said as she kept an eye on Elena, watching as she hastily typed out a message. She must have told him that some guy had grabbed her, because Stefan quickly walked back towards where the man had been. “Wait where the hell did that guy go so fast?”

Tyler’s eyes went wide in surprise when he couldn’t spot the man either. “I have no idea.” He told her as he kept looking for the guy. The four on the double date left very quickly after that. “That’s weird isn’t it?” He asked.

“Yeah it is.” Ellie replied before deciding to trust that with both Stefan and Matt with Elena and Caroline that they should be safe enough that she didn’t have to worry. She turned her focus to her aunt who was getting drunker by the second. Jenna was in a full conversation with Damon and Kelly, laughing brightly at whatever Damon was saying. It wasn’t long before the conversation seemed to be more between Kelly and Damon as opposed to being between the three of them. “Please dear god tell me that Damon fucking Salvatore isn’t hitting on Kelly Donovan.”

Tyler made a face as he looked at the two of them. Kelly stepped a little closer as Damon popped a cherry stem in his mouth and another into Kelly’s. “Oh they’re tying cherries with their tongues, they’re definitely flirting.” Ellie gagged as Damon leaned forward to take the tied cherry stem from between Kelly’s teeth.

“Oh my god, I think I’m gonna vomit.” Ellie told him. It seemed that Jenna had also decided it was a bit much because the blonde stood and walked away, stumbling slightly as she walked. “Oh I should definitely go get her.”

“Yeah.” Tyler agreed as she stood up. “Let me know when you guys get home safe.”

Ellie smiled fondly at her friend. “You got it, Ty.” She didn’t see which exit Jenna went out, so she exited the entrance she came in to go get her car. She paused next to her car to pull out her vibrating phone. “Caroline? Is everything ok?”

_ “I can’t stand it.”  _ Caroline told her. She sounded very upset and a little angry.

“Can’t stand what? Care, what happened?”

_ “Elena happened. Elena always happens! I’m so tired of being the back up, Ellie. Why am I never the first choice?” _ Caroline’s defeated tone made Ellie’s heart ache. Caroline deserved to know that she was someone’s first choice. 

“Do I need to kick Elena’s ass? Because I’ll do it for you. She might be my sister but you’re my best friend.” Ellie assured her.

_ “Even if you did she still wouldn’t get it.”  _ Caroline told her. The fact that Caroline didn’t even laugh at the joke spoke volumes about how upset she truly was over this.

“Do you want me to come get you?” Ellie offered.

Caroline hesitated and after a moment she answered,  _ “I’m not sure. If I call you back it’s probably because I want you to come get me.” _

“Ok, I love you.” Ellie told her.

_ “I love you too.” _ Caroline said before she ended the call. Ellie got into her car and pulled out from her parking spot to go find Jenna. She pulled up the corner and saw Jenna stumbling into a cab. She sighed in relief and pulled out behind the cab as it drove in the direction of their house. Once the taxi parked on the curb, Ellie pulled into the driveway and got out of the car as Jenna paid the driver.

“Oh hey.” Jenna said in surprise. 

“Hey, Jenna.” Ellie said. “Have a good time at The Grill?”

Jenna paled slightly. “Oh god, were you there too?”

“Mmhmm. I was going to give you a ride but Caroline called me and when we got off the phone you were already getting into the cab.” Ellie said.

“Can we not tell Jeremy about it, maybe?” Jenna asked as they walked up. Ellie nodded in agreement and Jenna smiled at her. “Thanks.” Once she unlocked the door they went in as Jenna called, “Jeremy!”

Jeremy appeared in the kitchen doorway, looking entirely suspicious and slightly breathless as he said, “Jenna, Ellie, hey, what’s uh… what’s up?”

“Regret.” Jenna told him. “Make sure you lock that up.” She told him before heading upstairs.

He turned around to see the back door was open and Ellie gave him a funny look. “You good, Jer?”

“Hmm?” He asked as he looked back at her. “Yeah, yeah I’m good. Everything’s totally good.”

She didn’t particularly believe him, but she decided not to push. “Ok… I think I might be going to sleep. Goodnight. Really, don’t forget to lock that door.”

“Yeah. yeah, goodnight. Sweet dreams.” He told her as he walked over to close the door. She headed upstairs and got changed before sending Tyler a text to let him know that she and Jenna got home just fine. Despite trying to stay awake, she dozed off before she heard Elena come home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost the end of Ramadan, so one last time, Happy Ramadan to those who celebrate it! Also please leave a comment and let me know what you thought!
> 
> Posted: 5/22/20


	17. Let The Right One In

**Chapter 17: Let The Right One In**

_ January 16, 2010 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ So yesterday, Elena and Stefan went on a double date with Matt and Caroline. From what I saw it wasn’t going as well as Caroline had hoped that it would. There was a lot of back and forth between Elena and Matt. I just hope Caroline and Matt worked it out because she really really likes him. Jeremy was also acting weird when Jenna and I got home last night but I don’t know what that was all about. I was so tired I just ended up going to sleep instead of trying to ask him about it. I wonder if he’s seen Anna. He’ll be so excited to know that she’s sticking around instead of leaving like she and her mother had planned to do. _

The roads were a nightmare to drive on. It made her nervous to be on back roads when no one really knew where she was. So, she decided to park on the side of the road, rather than parking up by the house so that the car wouldn’t get stuck in the mud. After she pulled on her rain boots so that she couldn’t ruin her clothes, Ellie tossed her tennis shoes into the duffle bag she had. She managed to hide the bag inside her raincoat before she zipped it up and pulled the hood over her head. It was almost startling how much louder the rain was now that she was in it. Once she’d made sure her car was locked, she started the path towards the house.

Even she had to admit, it was a little unsettling to be so far from the house without protection. She banished the thought. She was her own protection. The path was muddy and she sunk into it with every step she took. With the rain, it was much harder to see where she was going and the sudden fear that she would get lost unsettled her. Would she perhaps be able to sense the house? Surely the ghosts of so many witches would leave a magic mark to follow.

She cleared her mind and searched out for the house as she walked. The path so far was familiar enough that she could go even without being sure. Ellie just hoped that it would be a bit easier to sense the house with how much time she’d spent there. Sure enough, it felt like a little tug in her gut. Following the feeling, she allowed herself to walk off the beaten path and into the trees. If it weren’t for the fact that the pull felt stronger the more that she walked she probably would have turned back, but she pressed on. A few minutes later she could see the house in the distance.

By the time she was under the safety of the porch, she felt like a drowned rat. With her back against the front door, she pulled off her rainboots and replaced them with the tennis shoes from her bag. Inside was far warmer than she expected, getting warmer still as she ventured to the room she always went to. “Hi Emily.” Ellie said politely as she sat her things on the ground before sitting down next to them.

“It’s quite a storm outside. What brings you here in weather like this?” Emily asked.

“Well, the storm is actually why I’m here. Caroline is going to be driving a bit today and I don’t want anything to accidentally happen to her. I was wondering if we could do some kind of protection spell to keep her safe.” Ellie explained.

“That can be arranged. Is there anyone else you’d like to protect?” Emily asked.

Ellie nodded. “Yeah, I guess my friends and then Jenna and Elena and Jeremy.”

“The best way for it to work is to tie it to a natural event. Like a phase of the moon.” Emily explained.

“Can I tie it to the storm itself?” Ellie asked. “Even if the roads aren’t great later as long they can see when they’re driving it should be fine.”

“That will do. You will need something to represent your friends.” Emily told her. Ellie nodded, aware of this much, and began to pull things from the duffle bag she’d brought. She pulled out a photo of her and Caroline in their cheer uniforms and set it to the side. After that she pulled out a photo of her standing between Matt and Tyler at the lake. A jacket that Bonnie had left at her house came next. The bracelet for Elena was next. For Jenna, she pulled out a necklace that her aunt wore often. The item she brought for Jeremy was a watch he used to wear constantly but stopped when it no longer worked.

“Will these work?” Ellie questioned as she organized them on the floor.

“They will.” Emily told her. “You came prepared. Good.” If Ellie didn’t know any better, she’d say that Emily almost sounded amused. “Place candles around you and your items in a circle.” Ellie stood, gathering candles from around the room and putting them in place as instructed. “Hold your hands out above the objects and repeat after me.  _ Phasmatos tribum praesidium haec gentem _ .”

Ellie relaxed and felt the candles shoot to life as she closed her eyes. “ _ Phasmatos tribum praesidium haec gentem _ .  _ Phasmatos tribum praesidium haec gentem _ .  _ Phasmatos tribum praesidium haec gentem _ .” The candles burned unnaturally high for a moment before going out. She felt drained and she assumed that meant that it had worked. 

“You did well. I was worried protecting so many people at once might be a bit draining to you.” Emily told her as she collected the items to place them back in her duffle bag.

With a small laugh, Ellie admitted, “I could probably go for a nap right now but that might just be because of the rain.” There was a sudden warmth around her. By now, she had felt it often enough to know that it was the other witches taking care of her as she returned the candles she’d used to their original places. “Thank you.” She told them kindly.

“It might be best for you to be on your way before the storm gets too strong that you can’t leave.” Emily advised.

Ellie nodded in agreement as she grabbed her things. “I’m sorry I can’t stay longer.” She apologized.

“There’s no need to apologize. Go on and get indoors as soon as you can.” Emily told her and Ellie headed upstairs. Once outside, she slipped back on her rain boots before she pulled up her hood. The rain was coming down harder than it had been when she arrived. Stepping down from the safety of the porch, she made a face as her boot sunk down into the mud. The rain was icy as it blew into her face and she tried to go faster so that she could get out of it. She moved on instinct to get to the car. Nerve wracking wasn’t a strong enough phrase to explain how unsettled she was to be in the middle of the woods alone when she could hardly see anything. It didn’t help that if she was attacked it would be hard to run through mud like this.

Once she finally got to the car she yanked off her muddy boots and carefully placed them in a bucket on the floorboard of the passenger's seat so that she wouldn’t mess up the interior. She cranked the car and blasted the heat as she pulled off the wet jacket and set it and the duffle bag aside. She pulled onto the road carefully and drove slowly. The last thing she needed was to crash. Driving wasn’t easy. If she had to guess, she probably couldn’t see a car unless it was right in front of her. The road was blending into everything else too much. Once she was finally back on a regular road, she pulled over to wait for the storm to ease up. When curiosity got the better of her, she called Caroline as the rain beat against the windows. “Hello?”

_ “Hey Ellie! What’s up? I’m still on the road from hell.”  _ Caroline said in greeting.

“Oh you’re still driving? Do you want me to hang up? I was just calling to check and see if you’d made it there safe yet.” Ellie asked her.

Caroline laughed, her good mood clear.  _ “No you’re good. I need someone to save me from the boredom of driving without music. And Matt is working so he can’t talk to me.” _

“So you two made up?” Ellie asked hopefully.

_ “Yeah, we did. Thank god. He fixed up this old car of Stefan’s that apparently is a really cool sports car and then Stefan let me and Matt take it for a ride and we had a heart to heart.”  _ Caroline told her.  _ “He totally knew I was testing him to see how he was with Elena. Was it wrong of me to test him like that?” _

“I don’t think so. It’s not unreasonable to be worried about how he feels about his ex. Even if it’s your friend. How did the talk go?” Ellie asked as she turned the heat up a bit more.

_ “He actually really made an effort to get me to see where he was coming from. He told me that I was the only person he wanted to be in that car with.” _ Caroline said softly. _ “I don’t really know how to put it into words how much it meant to me.” _

It was a relief to hear that from Caroline, especially when the blonde had been quite upset when she’d called Ellie. “Well if the talk went that well is that all you two did?” She teased. The pause before Caroline responded was telling and Ellie couldn’t help but laugh excitedly. “Oh my god you two totally made out in Stefan’s car!”

_ “Ok but listen making out in sports cars is not as easy as you’d think it’d be.”  _ Caroline told her.  _ “God it would have been the perfect end to the date if we’d been able to really hang out with Elena and Stefan after we’d talked if it wasn’t for what happened when we’d gone back inside the house.” _

“Wait what happened?” Ellie asked. She hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Elena about the date yet.

_ “Hold on.” _ Caroline said. Ellie could faintly hear Caroline muttering to herself. It sounded like she was insulting the road.  _ “Sorry, I had to go really slow for a second because I had to drive around something that was in the road. Ok, so when we went inside we saw Damon and Mrs. Donovan making out against the wall with Mrs. Donovan basically wrapped around Damon. Like I’m talking full blown it’s gonna end in sex makeout.” _

“Oh my god you’re kidding!” Ellie exclaimed. She had seen them at The Grill but she had hoped that nothing would come of it.

_ “I wish I was. My ex and my boyfriend’s mom? Gross doesn’t even cover half of it. Matt ended up taking her home and Elena took me home.”  _ Caroline told her.  _ “Matt kind of told his mom how he felt about it and he’s worried she might leave again.” _

It didn’t surprise her that he was worried. Both Kelly and Vicki were prone to take off on a moment’s notice. “If I see him today I’ll try and see how he’s doing.” Ellie assured her.

_ “I’d appreciate it a lot. Also where are you? The sound of the rain is like deafening.” _ Caroline asked.

With a sigh, she confessed, “Currently, I’m sitting on the side of the road. I had errands to run but the rain got so bad that I had to pull over.”

_ “As long as you’re not driving right now. It’s way too dangerous to be on the phone when it’s raining like this.” _

“That’s a little bit of the pot calling the kettle black since you’re the one driving right now.” Ellie teased. 

_ “Yeah but I’m definitely the better driver between the two of us.”  _ Caroline reminded her.

“Fair enough, but where are you? Because the call keeps breaking up really badly.” Ellie asked.

_ “I’m on some backroad from hell. I really need one of those like bluetooth thingies. Maybe that would get a better signal.” _ Caroline said.

“Maybe you should just turn around? Come back so that you don’t get lost?”

_ “I’m gonna try and get back on the main road but if I can’t I’ll turn back. I should probably go though. Let me know when you get somewhere safe.” _

“I will. Same goes for you. Text me when you get somewhere.” The call ended and she decided that the rain had eased up enough for her to try and drive again. She put in drive and tried to go, only for the car to not move. “What?” She tried again, pressing a little harder on the gas, but it didn’t work. The next attempt did nothing more than the last, except she saw the mud getting slung in her mirror. “You have got to be kidding me. Shit.” She groaned. Not knowing else to call, she dialed the only person who could probably help her the fastest.

_ “Hey Ellie, what can I do for you?”  _ Tyler asked as he answered.

“Can you come get me? I was driving and pulled over when it got too bad but now I can’t get out of the mud.” She confessed with a whine.

He laughed at her.  _ “You got stuck. Sounds like you’re in a bit of a sticky situation.” _

“You’re not as funny as you think you are, you asshole.” She told him.

_ “Oh well then I guess I should just hang up then?” _ He teased.

“Rude.” She told him.

_ “Listen I’m with my dad. Can you tell us where you are? We’ll come pick you up and then have a tow truck get your car when the weather isn’t so bad.” _

She looked around for anything that would be useful in telling him where she was. In a brief moment where the rain was lighter, she spotted a mile marker. “Um, I’m pretty sure that mile marker says one twenty seven.”

_ “Ok, we aren’t far from there. We’ll be there in a couple of minutes.” _ Tyler told her. She hung up the phone and waited. As promised, Mr. Lockwood’s car appeared a few minutes after the call ended. It also made her realize she’d made the right decision to stop driving when she didn’t even see his car until he was basically right where she was. She turned off the car as her door was opened by Tyler who was holding an umbrella over them. “Come on. We’re going to The Grill.”

“Ok.” She said as she double checked that her car was locked before she let Tyler close her car door. “Thank you for coming and getting me Mr. Lockwood.” She said politely.

He gave her his politician smile and said, “Any time, Ellie. It would be awful if you got into another car accident so soon.” She winced at the mention but didn’t reply. Tyler looked back at her with concern and she just shook her head to let him know that it was fine. The ride to The Grill took much longer than normal, but Ellie appreciated that Mr. Lockwood was actually being careful. They stepped in and then to the side of the door to shake off and put the umbrellas down when Ellie spotted Anna and her mother walking towards the exit. “Hey, you’re not going out in that, are ya?” He asked Miss Pearl. “The roads are dangerous. Route five is completely flooded.”

“We’ll make do.” Miss Pearl assured him.

To Ellie’s surprise, he nodded without a fight as a waitress called, “Mayor Lockwood, we have your table ready.”

“Great.”

“Mayor Lockwood, is it?” Miss Pearl asked and he quickly turned back around. “I suppose it is treacherous outside. My name is Pearl. This is my daughter Anna. we’ve just recently moved to town.”

“Welcome. Richard Lockwood. This is my son Tyler and his friend Ellie.” Mayor Lockwood introduced. Ellie thought it was strange that Miss Pearl said they’d just moved there, but maybe she still considered the move new. “Please, please join us.”

“It would be a pleasure.” Miss Pearl assured him.

Miss Pearl and Anna walked ahead and as Ellie started to walk, Tyler said, “Be more creepy, dad. Not like your son and his best friend are standing right here.”

“Grow up. Elections are coming. She’s a constituent. And a rich one, from the looks of it.” Mayor Lockwood replied.

“You can tell all that by looking at her ass?” Tyler asked sarcastically. “Awesome. I’m gonna go shoot some pool.” He reached forward to get Ellie’s attention. “Want to come shoot pool with me?”

“Yeah.” Ellie agreed as they left Mayor Lockwood with Anna and Miss Pearl.

* * *

They were taking a break from shooting pool and talking with Matt while Tyler shot dirty looks at his dad. “Guy’s not even subtle about it.” Tyler scoffed as he took a drink of his water.

“Who is that?” Matt asked as he loaded up dirty dishes.

“It’s not my mother.” Tyler told him as he walked back over to the pool table.

“Hey name is Pearl. Her daughter is friends with Jeremy.” Ellie whispered to Matt. “But while Tyler is grumpily playing pool, do you wanna tell me about what happened last night?” She asked curiously.

Matt looked up at her. “Did Caroline tell you?” He asked.

“Not much. We didn’t talk long because she was still driving and breaking up. But I did see your mom partying it up with Jenna and Damon Salvatore.” Ellie told him and watched as he made a disgusted face. “I’m guessing it wasn’t pretty.”

“It wasn’t. We left The Grill because they were getting drunk and I didn’t want to see it. And then as soon as me and Caroline make up, we walk in to see them making out in the hallway. But I yelled at my mom last night. You know, we got home from that mess and I just felt like the parent with screwed up kid.” Matt explained.

“Maybe she needed to hear it, Matty. It’s not fair to you that you have to keep what you’re feeling all bottled up. Especially because you’re worried about her reaction. She’s your mom. She’s supposed to be taking care of you not the other way around.” Ellie reminded him.

“Yeah… yeah, I know. I just worry that if I push too hard, then she’ll take off again. Cause that’s what she does. Her and Vicki both. You know I haven’t heard anything from Vicki since she left?” Matt said with a sigh as he wiped off a table.

Ellie made a face. It was strange to her that Vicki wouldn’t even call to let Matt know that she was alright. “I’m sure she’ll call you soon.” Ellie told him reassuringly. “But Matty, you can’t control what your mom does, or what Vicki does. Even if life would be easier if you could.”

“I just wish that my mom would try, even just a little. You know? To have a mom for once.” Matt admitted. “If she even just tried to try that would be enough for me.”

“Have a little faith. Maybe she’ll surprise you.” Ellie suggested.

Matt laughed at that, smiling brightly at her. “You know sometimes you and Caroline are more alike than you realize.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Ellie replied.

“Ellie, come on, you gonna play?” Tyler called. The table was set up for a new game.

“Yeah, I’m coming.” Ellie said as she walked back over to the table. “You break.” They played a few games before Elliy eventually wandered over to where Jeremy was sitting. Her brother also happened to be staring longingly in the direction of the restrooms where Anna had gone in a minute or so before. “Are you just gonna stare at her all night rather than talking to her?” Ellie asked.

“We were hanging out before her mom got here. Apparently she doesn’t want her mom to know about us yet.” Jeremy confessed. Anna and her mother appeared from the bathroom before Ellie got a chance to reply. She watched them walk towards the exit as Anna texted. Jeremy’s phone beeped a moment later and she watched as her brother’s eyes went wide with surprise as he walked Anna walk through the door.

“Is everything alright?” Ellie asked.

He seemed to snap back to reality, putting his phone away hastily. “Yeah, yeah everything is actually great.” He told her.

“Am I to assume everything is great in relation to Anna?” She pushed.

“Yeah.” He confessed. They sat together and ate to try and kill time. The storm had finally passed but the roads weren’t the best yet. When he went to play darts, she went and sat with Tyler and one of the girls she’d seen in passing at school.

“Alright. Give me ten minutes. And keep it out of the news until I get there.” Mayor Lockwood said. He caught Ellie’s attention as he said to Tyler, “Grab your stuff. We gotta go.”

“Kinda got half a burger left.” Tyler told him.

“They found Vicki Donovan.” Mayor Lockwood said as he pulled on his coat.

“Are you serious? Where was she?” Tyler asked as he stood up.

“Storm unearthed the grave off county road. They just brought her body down to the morgue.” Mayor Lockwood told him and Ellie took a tight hold of Tyler’s hand. Surely Mayor Lockwood had it wrong somehow. There was no way Vicki was dead.

“Wait. She’s dead?” Jeremy asked from behind them. Ellie felt grief make its way into her heart at the look of shock on both Tyler and Jeremy’s faces.

“Come on. We gotta go.” Mayor Lockwood told Tyler again.

Tyler looked back at Jeremy knowingly. They might have gotten along when it came to Vicki but they’d both cared about her. “Jer, I don’t have my car. I came here with Tyler.” She told him.

Jeremy nodded in understanding. “It’s ok. I’ll call Jenna.” He told her.

“Are you going over to Matt’s?” She asked him softly.

“Yeah. I'll see you there.” Jeremy told her. She let Tyler lead her by the hand back to the car where Mayor Lockwood was waiting. The ride to the morgue was silent in the worst way. It left her to her darkest thoughts. The possibilities of how she died filled her head. Who found Vicki’s body? How long had she been dead? What if it had been Jeremy instead?

Mrs. Lockwood was already there when they arrived and even she looked to be in shock. She had never been particularly fond of Vicki, but she’d never wanted the girl dead. “I don’t think the two of you should see her like this.” Mrs. Lockwood said softly. “I know you both cared about her. But it’s not a good idea to see her like that. Maybe you should head over to see Matt instead. I’m sure he could use his friends right now.” She told them as she offered up the keys to the car she’d driven there in.

Part of Ellie almost wanted to disagree, but the other part was too scared to see what had to be the decaying body of a girl that her brother had cared so much about. “Ty, she’s right.” Ellie eventually said. “We need to get to Matt.” When her parents had died, Matt had been an amazing friend to her. It was important that she returned that care.

“Thanks mom.” Tyler told her and gave the older woman a brief, but tight, hug before they headed over to the car. She held his hand tightly during the car ride, trying to offer and comfort she could give. Caroline was the one to open the door, paler than Ellie had ever seen her. She led them to the kitchen where Jeremy already sat as she moved to make coffee.

With a squeeze to Tyler’s hand, Ellie went to Caroline and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you ok?” She asked quietly. She could faintly hear Sheriff Forbes talking with Kelly in the living room. “Because you don’t look ok.”

Caroline glanced over her shoulder to see if they would be overheard and quietly confessed, “I’m the one that found Vicki.” Ellie’s jaw dropped in shock as she watched Caroline start the coffee maker. “I got stuck in the mud on some back road and couldn’t get a signal. So I got out of my car and started walking around and right when I found one, I slipped and slid down like this hill near a river. It was super dark and I couldn’t see anything so I was trying to climb back up and I grabbed a hold of something and it ended up being Vicki’s hand and she was trapped in like vines and stuff.”

Ellie didn’t know what to say, so she pulled Caroline to her and hugged her as hard as she could. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how terrifying it must be to find the dead body of someone you had known your whole life. “Is there anything I can do to help? You don’t have to be doing all of this if you aren’t feeling up to it.”

“Weirdly enough, I’m ok for right now. I think my concern for Matt is kind of overriding my other emotions and I’m ok with that.” Caroline said. “I need to go give my mom and Mrs. Donovan some more coffee.” Ellie followed after her to the living room and it was hard to see Kelly look so broken. Both Kelly and Sheriff Forbes were teary eyed. And it didn’t take a genius to know that Sheriff Forbes was more grateful than ever that Caroline was alright. She followed Caroline back towards Vicki’s room. “I made you some coffee.” Caroline told Matt.

“Thanks.” Matt told her. He was staring at the floor and Ellie watched from where she stood just out of sight in the hallway.

“Are you… is there anything I can do?” Caroline asked him.

He stood and stepped towards her. “I just, uh… I need to be alone right now.” He told her. The doorbell rang, and Ellie could see Tyler going to open the door as she walked that way. Her twin appeared a moment later and Ellie gestured behind her. When Elena walked past her, she turned back to see Matt. he stared at her for a moment before his blank expression began to crumble.

As his breathing got harsher, Elena rushed towards him. “Matt.” She pulled him to her as he really began to cry. Watching Matt dissolve into tears hurt more than she’d ever expected and she too began to cry. She wasn’t sure how long everyone stayed there, but after a while they began to leave.

“Matt.” Ellie said softly as she stepped into the bathroom where he was wiping his eyes. “Is it ok if I stay here with you and your mom? I don’t want the two of you to be alone.” Fresh tears appeared and he nodded instead of speaking. It didn’t surprise her that he didn’t trust his voice. “I’m just going to let Elena know, ok?” She went and found her siblings standing at the door, saying goodbye to Kelly. “Elena, I’m gonna stay the night with them ok?”

“Ok, I’ll let you know when we get home.” Elena said as she hugged Ellie. “Take care of them.” She whispered into her twin’s ear.

“I will.” Once everyone had gone, leaving only the Donovans and Ellie, Kelly grabbed a bottle and headed to her room. Ellie and Matt went to his room where she held him as he cried for the sister he didn’t get to say goodbye to. She wished she could fix it, but she wasn’t sure there was a magical fix for a hurt like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you thought in the comments below! Also, if you somewhere where protests are going on due to the murder of George Floyd, please be careful. I don't want any of you guys getting hurt.
> 
> Posted: 5/29/20


	18. Under Control

**Chapter 18: Under Control**

_ January 30, 2010 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ Vicki Donovan was found dead. I think they’re saying that it’s a drug overdose, but Caroline said that she was basically wrapped in vines and buried. Mayor Lockwood said that her grave had been unearthed in the storm. Who ends up buried in a shallow grave from a drug overdose? She didn’t bury herself. Caroline has been doing her best to help out with Matt and Mrs. Donovan, but I’m pretty sure Kelly is getting sick of Caroline dropping off food. The funeral was painful, but a lot of people came to pay respect. I just think it’s strange how Vicki ended up. _

Ellie had scrambled eggs for both Elena and Jenna before making some for herself. “Jeremy! Do you want any eggs?” She yelled from the bottom of the stairs. They were running out of time if he wanted to eat.

“No! I’m good!” He called back. She shrugged and headed back to the kitchen to add cheese into her eggs.

“Do you guys think that he’s doing ok? I know he took Vicki’s death pretty hard. She’s been the first person he’s really lost that he was close to since mom and dad.” Ellie asked as she put the eggs onto her plate and took a seat next to Elena.

“We just have to keep an eye out for him. It won’t help if we push him too much and he’s not ready to talk. But he hasn’t been doing any drugs that I can tell. He’s just been a little down, which is very normal.” Jenna told her with a small smile. “I’m sure Matt and Kelly appreciate you guys helping them out so much.”

“He was there for us when mom and dad died.” Elena reminded her. “It was the least we could do.”

“Your mom and dad would be so proud of the two of you for stepping up like that when Matt needed you to.” Jenna praised them.

It wasn’t long until they finished eating and the twins grabbed their bags and headed towards the door. “Come on, Jeremy. Going to school. Walking out the door now.” Elena called.

“You forgot this.” Jenna called as she caught up to them to slip a notebook back into Elena’s backpack.

Elena grinned at her. “Thank you.” She opened the door to reveal John Gilbert of all people standing on the other side with his fist raised to knock.

He smiled brightly at the twins and said, “Elena, Ellie, hi.”

“Uncle John, hi.” Elena said unenthusiastically.

“Hi, Uncle John.” Ellie greeted.

“Jenna.”

“John, you made it.” Jenna replied.

“Said I’d be in by noon.” He told her as both Ellie and Elena made a face at their aunt.

“Oh what you say and what you do are typically two very different things.” Jenna retorted as Jeremy finally made his way downstairs.

When the youngest Gilbert spotted John, he said, “Uncle John, what’s up?”

“Hey.” John replied as Jeremy patted him on the shoulder before walking straight out the door. “I had some business in town. I thought a visit was in order.” John explained and Ellie thought it would have been laughable to see how uncomfortable Elena was if it wasn’t for the fact that Ellie was in the same boat.

“How long are you staying?” Elena asked.

“I don’t know yet.” John confessed.

That was definitely not what they wanted to hear. “Hmm. Ok. Well, I’m gonna go to school. I’ll see you later. Come on, Ellie.” They stepped out the door but turned back to shoot Jenna a look to which the blonde only made a face back. It was one of her looks when there wasn’t anything she could do.

“What’s up with Jeremy?” John was saying as the door closed behind them.

Ellie groaned in frustration as she and Elena walked down the porch steps. “Literally why is he here? This never goes well.” She complained. “Did you do something to piss off the world that we’re getting punished in the form of Uncle John visiting? A visit that has an open-ended leave date? Because if you did, fix it. Sacrifice a chicken or something I don’t care.”

“Why are you assuming that I did something? Did you do something?” Elena shot back. “And I’m not sacrificing a chicken. Honestly the chicken wouldn’t be a big enough sacrifice in the first place.”

“What about sacrificing chickens?” Jeremy asked as the twins got into the car.

“Only that it wouldn’t be enough.” Ellie explained and left it at that. Jeremy didn’t question it, instead he slid in his earbuds and started playing his music to drown out any conversation Ellie and Elena might have tried to have with him. 

When they got to school, they parted ways with Jeremy and ended up running to Matt at his locker. “What’s up with you guys?” He asked when he saw the looks on their faces.

“Uncle John dropped by for a surprise visit.” Ellie told him.

“He said his trip is open-ended.” Elena added.

“Uncle John. I never really liked that guy.” He confessed as he put his books into his bag.

Ellie scoffed. “Join the club. I don’t know of anyone that really likes that guy.”

“Does anyone?” Elena agreed.

“I am here for moral support if the two of you need me.” He told them with a small smile. 

Ellie returned the smile. The thought of Uncle John staying for any kind of an extended period of time was not a pleasant thought at all. “Thanks. But I think we’ll have to suffer this one alone.” Elena told him. “You’ve been through enough.”

He turned to look at her properly at that reminder. “Thank you, by the way. Both of you. For just… for everything the two of you did at Vicki’s funeral and her memorial. I really couldn’t have done it without the two of you.”

“Of course, Matt.” Elena told him. There was no need for him to thank them for that. “So is Caroline still baking for you guys around the clock?”

“She finally went to her dad’s. Which is a good thing, because my mom was gonna strangle her if she dropped off another lasagna.” Matt told them as he shut his locker and they turned to walk down the hall.

After school, when she returned home, John had been there and it was like she couldn’t escape him. By the time dinner rolled around, Ellie was already more than sick of him. She sat next to Jeremy at the table while John sat at the head and Jenna was standing at the counter getting a drink. “So, Jeremy, Ellie, are the two of you going to the kick off party?” John asked them.

“Mmhmm.” Ellie said, trying to avoid conversation with the older man.

“I have no interest in the Founder’s Day kick off party.” Jeremy told him.

“Sure you do. It’s tradition.” John replied as he set down his glass.

“Far be it from us to break tradition.” Jenna said sarcastically and Ellie gave her an amused grin.

“The Gilberts have been a part of this town’s history for one hundred and fifty years, one of the founding families. And with that distinction comes certain obligations, including going to the party.” John explained and Ellie was sure everyone else in the room rolled their eyes at him. “One day, when you can appreciate the significance, I’ll tell you all about your heritage. I’ll tell both of you.”

“Hmm. The Gilbert family legacy. I forgot how sacred it was.” Jenna mocked. “I’m not a Gilbert, so I was never cool enough to hear it.”

John just shook his head at her before Jeremy leaned over and asked, “Why does she hate you?”

“We used to sleep together.” John said nonchalantly. Jenna immediately threw something at him and Ellie choked on her food in surprise.

“I’m standing right here.” Jenna reminded him.

Ellie stood to get a drink and once she was no longer choking, she sent an unimpressed look and John’s direction and told her aunt, “Even Scum Fell was a better choice, Jen.”

Jenna just sighed with frustration and said, “I know.”

* * *

In the morning, John was nowhere to be found. Ellie managed to eat breakfast with her brother in peace without even so much as a hint of their annoying uncle. “I’m gonna go take out the trash.” She told Jeremy once she’d finished eating. He looked up from where he was pouring his second bowl of cereal and nodded before he went back to eating. While she was outside, she could have sworn she’d head a male voice that wasn’t Jeremy coming from inside. “Did someone come in?” She asked her brother curiously.

He just shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Um, ok then. I’m gonna head upstairs.” She told him before going to her room. The kick off party was tonight, which meant having to find a dress that wasn’t going to look exactly like something Elena was going to wear. They had the issue of wearing near identical dresses on more than one occasion. Just as she’d decided on a dress, someone knocked on her door. “Come in.”

Elena entered the room and shut the door behind her. “Ok, so I was thinking…” Elena started as she walked over to her twin. “I think it’s time we tell Jeremy.” The statement was more than a little surprising to hear. 

“Are you serious? I thought you were gonna make us keep it from him forever.” Ellie admitted.

“I know. I’m sorry. I know you’ve wanted to tell him for a while. Come on.” Elena said as she turned to go to Jeremy’s room. Ellie grabbed her jacket and followed after her sister and waited as she knocked on the door. “Hey.” Elena greeted as she opened his door.

“What’s up?” Jeremy asked without really looking at them.

“Do you have some time to talk?” Ellie asked him.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” He replied as he turned to face them.

“Not here.” Elena told him. “Come on, let’s get out of the house.” He grabbed his jacket and followed the twins out to the car. The ride was silent, and Jeremy looked confused but he went along with it. Ellie supposed he might have sensed that this was important. Elena ended up taking the three of them to the water after driving them around for a while.

“So what’s so important that you two had to bring me all the way out here? Now isn’t the time that you tell me you’re secretly serial killers and you’ve decided I’m your next victim right?” He joked.

Ellie scoffed at the remark. “You’ve found us out, Jeremy. You better run before we get you.” She said sarcastically as Elena rolled her eyes at the two of them.

“No. We aren’t serial killers.” Elena laughed. “But we found something out and we didn’t know how to tell you.”

“What is it? You’re making it sound so serious.” Jeremy told them.

Elena didn’t seem to know how to get the words out, so Ellie did it for her. “We’re adopted, Jer.” He immediately stopped walking. Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t that. “We found out a little while ago.”

“Mom and dad never told us. We had to try and get details from Jenna.” Elena added. It was clear to Ellie that her sister was worried about how Jeremy was going to take the news.

After a moment, Jeremy started to walk again and the girls followed. “I just can’t believe mom and dad never told you guys that you were adopted.”

“I’m sure they would have eventually.” Ellie replied.

“But why were you guys worried about what I thought?” Jeremy asked them.

“Because… I don’t know. It’s weird.” Elena admitted. “Going your whole life thinking you’re related by blood to someone.”

“Does it bug either of you that we’re not?” Jeremy asked curiously.

“No.” Ellie told him. “Jer, you’re our brother. That’s all that matters.” He smiled at the statement.

Changing the subject, Elena said, “So, Mr. Saltzman said you’ve been doing great in history now.”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s really been helping me out.” Jeremy confirmed. “He gave me some extra credit and stuff.”

“He loved your vampire paper.” Elena continued.

“Yeah, he thought I had a clever angle.” Jeremy told her.

“What drew you to that subject matter?” Elena asked.

“Uh, I don’t know. Um, boredom.” Jeremy said. “Or maybe I’m just as nuts as the long line of Gilbert crazies.” He joked.

“The Gilberts aren’t crazy.” Elena told him.

“Ah, easy for you to say. You’re not one.” He shot back. 

Both girls gave him a look of fake offense. “Ouch.” Ellie said sarcastically before she and Elena both shoved him. “I can still beat you up jerk.” Ellie reminded him as they continued walking. “But Elena have you taken a look at that journal? It’s actually really interesting to read. It’s not surprising that Jer wanted to write a paper on it.”

“Hmm. Maybe I should read it when I get the chance.” Elena joked. It almost seemed a little fake, but Ellie just brushed it off as Elena not really wanting to read it.

* * *

Ellie adjusted her dress as she walked through the party. The place was already filled with people and she spotted more than a few minors sneaking to drink some alcohol. A hand was pressed into her back and before she could react, Tyler’s voice was in her ear. “My dad is having me with him to greet Matt and his mom. Come on.”

She huffed but let him lead her to where his father was. As they entered, Matt and Kelly came in through another door. Ellie stood to the left of Tyler, leaving him in the middle between her and Mayor Lockwood. The older man put on his best politician smile and said, “I’m so glad you could join us tonight.”

“It was nice of you to reach out to us.” Kelly told him.

“This town is one big family, and when we lose a member, we all have to come together.” Mayor Lockwood said as Tyler gave Ellie a look that told her just how much Tyler thought his dad was full of shit. “Matt.” He said as he reached out to shake the teenager’s hand. “Kel.” He gave her arm a small pat before walking off. Ellie followed Tyler as they moved to exit as well, but they both shot a look at Matt.

“Come on, let’s get a drink. I’m sure Matt could use it.” Tyler said as they moved over to a drink station and swiped a bottle of alcohol. “It’s not like they can say anything. It’s my house.” He scoffed. When they got back to the room they’d just left, Kelly had already gone off somewhere. “Hey! Check it out.” Tyler said as they moved over to Matt.

“Dude, your dad is gonna beat you down if he catches you.” Matt warned.

“Yeah, let him try.” Tyler shot back as he opened the bottle.

Just as Tyler really got the bottle open, Matt said, “Alright, screw it.” He picked the bottle up and took a long drink.

“Well that’s one way to do it.” Ellie laughed as she took the bottle from his hand and took a sip for herself. She wasn’t sure what kind of alcohol it was but it was surprisingly tasty. Tyler was definitely the one out of the three of them that drank the most, with Matt in second and Ellie in last. But a big part of that came from the fact that the boys didn’t seem to mind if what they were drinking tasted like death. She was not ashamed to admit she was a bit picky with her drinks.

After sitting in a room away from most people with Matt and Tyler, she wandered back out into the main party to get a soda. It was there that she found Elena and Jenna in a conversation. “Hey Ellie! You look great!” Jenna praised as she hugged her niece.

“Where did you get that dress? I’ve never seen it before.” Elena asked.

“I’m not sure where I got it, but I knew if you saw it you’d somehow end up with something similar because I knew you’d like the style.” Ellie teased. “Where’s Stefan?”

Elena looked a bit tense at the mention, but Ellie didn’t comment on it as Elena replied, “Oh he’s around somewhere. He’s probably with his brother.”

“Also when did the music get fun? Mrs. Lockwood never lets us have fun music.” Ellie said jokingly. “Someone must have put a spell on the DJ.” The three of them laughed at the joke but Ellie spotted Mr. Saltzman heading over towards them. “History teacher, three o’clock.”

“How do I look?” Jenna asked nervously.

“Beautiful.” Elena assured her.

“An absolute knockout.” Ellie added 

When Mr. Saltzman reached them he cleared his throat and said to Jenna, “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Here I am.” She replied. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yeah, well, uh, things have been a little crazy.” He confessed with an awkward laugh. “But I’m here now. Do you wanna get a drink?”

“Sure.” Jenna agreed with a smile.

“Ok. Great.” He took her hand in his and smiled at the girls before walking off.

Matt looked surprised as he walked up to the girls.. “When did this happen?” He asked the twins.

“DJ had a change of heart.” Elena told him.

“Wanna dance?” Matt asked her. It was clear to Ellie that he was a bit drunk.

“I don’t know.” Elena said.

“Yes. Yes.” Matt insisted with a bright grin as he took her hands. “Come on.” He told her. Her attempts to tell him no weren’t convincing and she was smiling brightly as he led her onto the dance floor. She watched them for a while as she drank her soda and ate some snacks to try and make sure she didn’t get too tipsy. A sudden movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention and she watched as Jeremy basically stormed through the crowd of people that were having too much fun to notice him.

She lost sight of him for a moment but spotted him as he turned another corner and she followed where he went. Eventually he stopped and she found him sitting in an empty, dark room staring intently at the fire. “Jer?” She asked but he didn’t acknowledge her. “Jeremy? Is everything ok?” He just shook his head. Something was clearly bothering him, so she offered up the rest of her drink and her food to try and give him something else to focus on. 

He took them and slowly ate at the sandwich. Once it was finished he drank some of the soda before sitting it down on the coffee table in front of them. It was a bit concerning to Ellie that he wouldn’t even look at her the whole time. It had been some time of silence before Elena came in and sat on the other side of their brother. “Jer. I, um, I heard about your conversation with Sheriff Forbes.” Elena told him. What conversation?

Finally he spoke and said, “No one is trying to figure out what happened to her. They’re all willing to believe that she OD’d.”

“The coroner’s office confirmed it. If that’s what they said happened, then…”

“Is that what you believe?” Jeremy asked, cutting her off. 

Elena hesitated before she asked him, “What do you think happened?”

“I think somebody killed her and buried her body, and I don’t think we should write it off just cause it’s easy.” Jeremy admitted and Elena looked behind her to see if anyone was trying to listen in on their conversation.

“They’re just doing what they can to move on.” Elena told him.

“The truth is the only thing that’s gonna help people move on.” Jeremy insisted. Ellie took his hand in hers and squeezed it for comfort.

“Jer, just… just let it go, ok?” Elena replied. “Whatever it was, she’s gone now.” Ellie made a face at Elena. That was an odd way to phrase it.

Jeremy clearly caught it too. “‘Whatever it was’?” He repeated. “So you don’t think it was an overdose.”

“Yes. I… I do.” Elena said, but she wouldn’t look him in the eye.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Jeremy asked her. He wasn’t as good as Ellie when it came to spotting Elena in a lie, but at the moment it was as clear as day that she was lying about something. But what would she have to even lie about? “Why aren’t you looking at me?” He pressed.

“Stop it. That doesn’t mean anything.” Elena replied.

“If there was something else, you would tell me, right?” Jeremy questioned. It almost seemed like something was going on that Ellie wasn’t aware of.

“Of course I would.” Elena said. It seemed almost deliberate with the way she made sure to look him in the eye.

“I gotta go.” Jeremy said after there was a pregnant pause. Ellie watched him go but didn’t stop him. There seemed to be so much going on that she wasn’t aware of and she didn’t like it at all.

When Elena finally got up to leave as well, Ellie went with her. “What was all that about?” She asked her twin. “Are you two having problems or something?”

Elena looked surprised by the question. “Huh? No. We’re good. Why?” She questioned.

“I don’t know. Things just seemed a little tense between you and Jeremy and the last I knew of, everything was fine.” Ellie explained. She wanted to ask Elena why she was acting so weird when it came to Jeremy wanting to know the truth about Vicki’s death, but she didn’t think the middle of a party was the place for that.

“No, everything’s good. I guess he’s just still in a hard place trying to get over Vicki’s death.” Elena said as they walked down the hallway.

The conversation would have to continue later, because Matt walked over to them with a big grin. “Who knew I'd be missing all the fun at the Founder’s Day parties?” He joked.

“This is rare, believe me.” Elena told him.

“I can confirm. They’ve never been this fun.” Ellie added.

“Is it bad that I’m, uh, enjoying myself?” He asked them.

“No. It’s great that you’re enjoying yourself.” Elena assured him. “Thanks for making me dance.” She said with a smile as she tugged on his jacket a bit.

“Hey, no problem.” He told her as he pulled him in for a big hug. “Air.” He said as he laughed. “Air. I need some air. Um, come with me?”

“Sure.” Elena agreed as she pulled on the small jacket she’d brought with her.

“You guys haven’t seen my mom, have you?” 

“Um, no, not in a while.” Elena told him as she kept glancing at something on the dance floor.

“Nope. Sorry, Matty. I haven’t seen her since you guys got here.” Ellie said.

“Alright.” He nodded as the three of them walked outside. 

She and Elena turned to the right and stopped dead in their tracks. “Oh my god.” They both said as they caught a sight of Tyler making out with Matt’s mom of all people.

Matt tilted his head, as if he couldn’t process what he was seeing. Before Elena or Ellie could stop him, he ran up to Tyler and shoved him harshly. “What the hell are you doin, man?” Matt asked as he separated his best friend and his mom.

“Matt…” Kelly tried.

“Mom!” Matt yelled back at her, not wanting to hear it. The alcohol easily turned his anger to rage.

“Whoa, dude, calm down.” Tyler told him as he held his hands up. Ellie just sighed at the stupidity. That was the last thing he should have said.

Without warning, Matt punched Tyler in the face as hard as he could. “Matt!” Elena yelled in surprise. Tyler punched him back with enough force to send Matt into Kelly and Kelly to fall into the table with glass shattering everywhere. Tyler managed to knock Matt down and started landing punch after punch to Matt’s face. “Stop it!” Elena yelled.

“Tyler! Stop it!” Ellie screamed. “You’re hurting him!” She could see Matt’s face becoming bloodied. 

“Somebody help us!” Elena yelled as Tyler started choking Matt and Ellie was about to risk it to pull Tyler off of Matt when Mr. Saltzman appeared and ran over to the teenagers.

“Stop it! Get off! Tyler!” Mr. Saltzman yelled as he yanked the Lockwood off of Matt and forced him to the wall. “Hey! Stop!” Mr. Saltzman yelled as he forced Tyler to stay in place when the boy kept trying to get back at Matt. “What the hell was that?” He asked as Tyler finally stopped fighting. 

Ellie and Elena rushed over to Matt and tried to help him up. “Here get up, you’ll be ok.” Elena was saying as the twins helped Matt off the ground and over to a bench.

Mayor Lockwood appeared and went over to his son and Mr. Saltzman. “I’ll take it from here. I’ll take it from here.” He said as the history teacher backed off. “It’s alright, it’s ok.” Ellie watched as Mayor Lockwood cupped a hand around Tyler’s neck. “You hurt?” When Tyler shook his head, the Mayor replied, “Ok. Go get cleaned up. It’s ok. Go get cleaned up.” Ellie couldn’t help but notice how out of it Tyler seemed as he walked away. “Thank you for your help.” She heard the Mayor say to Mr. Saltzman. He then turned to address the crowd that had gathered. “Everything’s fine. Everything’s fine, everybody. Come on, everybody go back to the party. Let’s go. Come on, have a good time.”

“Are you ok?” Elena asked worriedly as she looked over Matt’s injuries.

“Where is she?” Matt asked.

The twins looked around but they couldn’t see his mother. “I don’t know. Come on, put your head up.” Elena told him.

“I’m gonna go get a first aid kit.” Ellie said as she moved to head inside the building. She had been there enough times to know where the kits were stashed. There was one conveniently located in one of the first floor bathrooms and she pulled it out from under the sink before trying to make her way back to her sister and Matt. 

As her luck would have it, she got stuck in the crowd that had gathered as they waited for Mayor Lockwood to speak. The crowd gave a round of applause as Mayor Lockwood said, “Thank you all, thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you all for joining us tonight. In just a few moments, we will officially begin the countdown to our upcoming Founder’s Day celebration, and it’s a very special one this year, the one hundred and fiftieth birthday of our town.” There was an excited round of applause before he continued. “And… and I would like to welcome back one of our town’s favorite sons to do the honors of ringing our official charter bell. John Gilbert, would you please join me up here?”

There was a round of applause for John as he shook the Mayor’s hand. “One hundred and fifty years of community, prosperity, family. We take care of each other, look after each other, protect each other. It’s good to be home.” John said before there was yet another round of applause and he rang the bell as they continued. Once the bell was rung, the crowd thinned enough for Ellie to get back outside.

“Sorry it took so long, I got stuck in the crowd.” Ellie apologized as she handed Elena the kit.

“It’s ok.” Matt told her as Elena started wiping the blood away.

When a bad feeling settled in Ellie’s stomach, she turned to look back towards the party. “Um, would you mind if I headed back inside? I think I forgot something.” Ellie explained.

“Yeah, it’s ok, go ahead. I’ve got this.” Elena assured her. 

Ellie nodded before heading back inside. She moved through the crowds as quickly as she could. When she caught sight of the Mayor, she followed after him. If she had to guess, he was looking for Tyler. He turned into the room that they had greeted the Donovans in as some people walked out of the room. “Let’s go.”

“Dad, I’m sorry.” Tyler apologized sincerely. “I don’t even know what happened. I was drinking and… I lost control. Can’t explain it.”

Mayor Lockwood nodded and started like he was turning away before backhanding Tyler across the face so hard the younger boy stumbled back. Ellie flinched back at the sound and watched as Tyler shrunk away from his father. His eyes were wide with fear and surprise at being struck like that. “That is the last time you ever embarrass this family.” The Mayor warned him and when he moved to leave the room, Ellie hid in the group that was chatting a few feet from where she stood.

Once she was sure he was gone, she rushed into the room to Tyler. “Ellie...” He tried but she shushed him as she carefully took his face in her hands. There was a strong red mark across his cheek, and a place where the skin had been slightly broken. It must have come from a ring that the Mayor was wearing. She wouldn’t be surprised if that mark bruised.

“Tyler, you’re sleeping at my house tonight.” She told him. Her tone left no room for him to fight her.

“Ellie…”

“No. I don’t want to hear it. I saw him hit you, Tyler. There will never be an excuse for him to hit you like that. You’re not going home tonight. We are going and getting your gym bag from your car and then you’re staying with me.” Ellie insisted. She was mad that he’d done something as stupid as making out with Matt’s mom, but that wasn’t enough to let her leave him alone when he was dealing with the crap his father put him through.

“Aren’t you mad at me?” He asked her.

With a sigh, she confessed, “I think you’re an absolute idiot for making out with Matt’s mom. Literally any other person here would have been a better option. I’m upset that you lost control to the point that you could have killed Matt if it weren’t for Mr. Saltzman. But I also saw how freaked out you were when you snapped out of it. And I heard what you said to your dad. Matt will be angry enough for the both of us, come on.”

He let her lead him by the hand through the crowds, and they went out the back to get to where his car was parked. Once he found his gym bag, they got to her car and headed straight for her place. She took the long roads, trying to give him time to cool off and to relax a bit. They drove in silence, not even the radio played. When they finally pulled into her drive, Ellie could tell that everyone was already home.

They were quiet as they walked inside. She didn’t want to deal with Jenna asking questions right now. They made it up to her room without incident and she shut the door behind them and locked it. She was about to speak, but the words died in her throat when he hugged her as tightly as he could. He wasn’t often one for affection, so the action was surprising. “Thank you.” He whispered. “Thank you.” She couldn’t think of time before this when she’d heard him be so sincere. “I don’t deserve you being so nice to me.”

She hugged back just as tightly and replied, “Don’t you ever think that. Tyler, you’re my friend.” Ellie hugged him until he was the one to let go first and said, “I’m gonna get changed in the bathroom, and you get changed in here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” It didn’t take long for her to change and then take her makeup off and he was waiting for her when she got back. “Let’s just go to sleep.” She told him as she moved to fix the bed. He grabbed a pillow and tossed it on the floor and she gave him a funny look. “What are you doing?”

“Sleeping on the floor.” He replied.

“No. That's way too uncomfortable. Just sleep in the bed like a normal person.” She told him as she put the pillow back up on the bed.

“Are you sure?” He asked hesitantly. 

“Yes, Tyler. I’m not gonna have you sleep on the floor and then listen to you complain that your back hurts.” She joked.

Her attempt to try and make him laugh worked. He tossed a pillow at her and warned her, “You better not hog the blankets.”

“You better not take up the whole bed.” She shot back. Once they were both in the bed, she clicked off the lamp and sent them into darkness. There was silence for a while and when she wasn’t sure if he was awake or asleep, she whispered, “You can always stay here when you need to.”

“Thank you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry the update is late! I wasn't feeling well yesterday. If you like this chapter please leave a comment below and let me know what you thought. Also, if the protests for George Floyd are still going on, please be careful. Take care of yourselves and each other.
> 
> Posted: 6/6/20


	19. Miss Mystic Falls

**Chapter 19: Miss Mystic Falls**

_ February 7, 2010 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ We are still in the middle of Founder’s Day celebrations and Uncle John is still here. I honestly don’t remember the last time I’d seen him for this long. I’m sure they’ll be announcing Founder’s Court soon, I just hope this goes well. Bonnie is potentially coming back to school today. I really hope she does. Maybe being with her friends will help her heal. Plus with Founder’s Court coming up so soon, I’m sure Caroline will want Bonnie to be there. They’ve been talking even more than me and Bonnie have. Which is surprising since normally Bonnie talks with Elena more. Actually, I’m not sure if Elena and Bonnie have talked at all lately. _

Ellie walked into Mr. Saltzman’s class and took her seat only a moment before she noticed Stefan walking in as well. Her eyes shot up in surprise. He hadn’t been to school in a while, and she had been worried that he was really sick. “Ok.” Mr. Saltzman said as he shut the door behind him, “This week we’re going to set aside our regular curriculum for a lesson in local history as we approach Founder’s Day. Apparently the community leaders feel that’s more important than World War II. But hey, what do I know?”

“Sorry I’m late.” Bonnie apologized as she walked through the door. Ellie had known there was a chance that Bonnie was coming back today, but she wasn’t sure if the other witch was actually going to do it.

Mr. Saltzman nodded at her and said to the class, “Well it looks like we will be at full occupancy today. Welcome home, Bonnie.” She took her seat in front of Ellie as Mr. Saltzman continued, “Right, Founder’s Day. What does it mean to have a Founder’s Day? Well, if you’ll turn your attention to this exquisite diorama over here that I spent all night making, you’ll find the answer.” He said and Ellie grinned at his slightly sarcastic tone. She understood why he didn’t see the point. She didn’t particularly get it either.

Her classes seemed to blur together and she was relieved when the last bell finally rang. “Come on!” Caroline said excitedly as she pulled on Ellie’s arm to get the girl to stand faster. “They’re posting the Founder’s Court! We have to go!” Ellie hastily shoved her things into her bag and let the blonde drag her through the hallways pushing past anyone and everyone. They found the list posted on the bulletin board next to the office. “Oh my god.” Caroline said softly.

“What is it?” Ellie asked.

“Oh my god! We both made it!” Caroline said excitedly as she pulled Ellie into a hug. “Oh my god this is going to be so much fun! I need the perfect dress like ASAP. Oh we can get Bonnie to help. Come on, let’s go find her before she leaves for the day.”

They walked outside and started scanning the crowd trying to find their friend. Hopefully, Caroline’s excited mood would also put Bonnie in a good mood. “Oh look, Caroline, over there. She’s with Elena.” Ellie said as she spotted her sister and the girl they’d been looking for.

“Perfect.” Caroline said before calling out, “Bonnie! Bonnie! Thank god you’re home!” She slung her arms around Bonnie to hug the shorter girl. “I know we talked every day, but I missed you.” Caroline confessed as she released Bonnie and Ellie took her place in the hug. Bonnie returned the hug and Ellie felt relief at getting to hold her friend tight. “How are you doing?” Caroline asked once Ellie stepped back from Bonnie.

“Better. Just better. You know, just glad to be back, and try to keep myself busy.” Bonnie told her.

“You might regret saying that.” Ellie joked as she winked at the other witch.

“Well, I can help with that. And you hush, Ellie.” Caroline scolded but she was smiling too happily for there to be any real heat behind it. “Major wardrobe confab needed ASAP. You need to help me pick the perfect dress for the Founder’s Court.”

Ellie watched Bonnie’s reaction and noticed the way the other girl seemed amused at how excited Caroline was. “The Founder’s Court? Did I miss something?” Elena asked.

“The Founder’s Court.” Caroline repeated. “You know… Miss Mystic Falls. They announced it today and um, you and Ellie and I are all on it.””

The recognition was clear as Elena’s eyes widened in understanding. “Oh, my god. We signed up for that so long ago. I completely forgot.”

“Yeah.” Caroline said as she nodded. She read Elena’s expression and asked, “So are you dropping out, then?”

Bonnie gave Ellie a small grin. They both knew how badly Caroline wanted to win. However, they also knew that neither Elena nor Ellie could drop out, not when it was something that had been so important and precious to their mother. “I can’t.” Elena confessed as she looked to both Ellie and Bonnie.

“No?” Caroline questioned, not understanding.

“Their mom is the one who wanted the two of them to enter.” Bonnie explained. Caroline understood immediately. “But yes, Caroline, I’ll definitely help you with the wardrobe.” Caroline beamed at Bonnie and hugged the girl again.

“Perfect!”

“I need to get a partner for this.” Ellie said suddenly. “Ok, Bon, can we talk later? I’ve missed seeing you.”

“Yeah, of course.” Bonnie said and she returned the hug Ellie gave her before the Gilbert witch took off. She searched through the parking lot and found Tyler putting away his gym bag in his trunk. “Hey Lockwood!” She called. 

He looked up at her as he shut the trunk and said, “What do you want?”

“That’s rude.” She told him.

“I know you. I know that look. What do you want?” He repeated and she just laughed.

“Ok, ok, so I do want something.” She confessed.

“That’s what I thought.”

She shoved him before asking, “Will you be my escort for the Founder’s Court? They just posted the thing and I forgot all about it.” He looked like he was going to protest so she held her hands up and said, “Please, listen, I know you hate formal things but Matt’s gonna go with Caroline and Stefan’s with Elena and you’re my best option.”

“I can’t tell if that’s supposed to be a compliment or an insult.”

“Ty, I really do want you to be my escort for this thing. Even my mom suggested you be my escort when I first applied.” Ellie added.

That seemed to catch him by surprise. “Really?” He asked. “Why would your mom want me to take you?”

“Because we were together constantly. Plus she thought you wouldn’t step on my toes.” Ellie joked and he rolled his eyes at her. “Please Ty, I don’t want to go with someone else as my escort.”

“Well… since you’re so desperate, I suppose I could help you out.” He teased.

“Thank you! You’re the best. You better get your best tux.” She warned.

* * *

By the time it was her turn for her Miss Mystic Falls interview, Caroline had already gone. Up until it was the blonde’s turn, they sat side by side with Caroline holding Ellie’s hand tightly. After Caroline’s interview they went back to nervously holding hands and Ellie hoped and prayed that Caroline would be the winner because the blonde truly deserved it. Ellie walked into the interview room to see Mrs. Lockwood sitting between two other women. “Hello Ellie, please take a seat.” She said and Ellie took her place in the single chair placed before the table. “This year’s queen will have the special honor of taking center stage at the hundred and fiftieth Founder’s Day Gala. Before we crown our winner, we would like to get to know a bit more about each of you.”

“I am a cheerleader at Mystic Falls High. I regularly make donations to the blood bank. In the past, I volunteered at the rec center during the summers both for cheer and gymnastics. I also used to work with the recycling programs to try and help keep Mystic Falls clean. But I am aware that I’ve not been as involved this year due to unforeseen circumstances.” Ellie said and watched as their gazes turned sympathetic at the mention of her parents. “But I know how much of an honor it is to the girl crowned Miss Mystic Falls and how serious it is to me. This was something that my mother and I had looked forward to doing together since I was a little kid. She wanted me to be as passionate about the community as she was, and I’d like to think that I’ve done ok in that regard. It’s a legacy she left for both me and my sister. But if I’m entirely honest…”

“Please do.” Mrs. Lockwood told her.

“The title of Miss Mystic Falls was something my mother taught me to value. It is something I will always value. So I believe that it should go to the person that has truly put in the effort continuously to improve our community. I wouldn’t want the crown because someone felt pity for the loss that I’ve gone through. In my honest opinion, I believe Caroline should get the crown.” Ellie explained. 

The three women before her seemed shocked. “If you don’t want to win, why compete?” Mrs. Lockwood asked curiously.

“For my mother. I compete because I do think that this title is something special. But I have also watched all the effort Caroline has put in. She has put her heart and soul into improving Mystic Falls because she loves this place. She loves projects and helping and she’s one of the most dedicated people I’ve ever seen. I know it’s a bit unorthodox for me to be this honest about this, and I know that she doesn’t need my praise for her achievements to shine for her, but I felt like I should be honest.”

“It speaks volumes about your character for you to truly speak your mind in this interview. Most candidates are very careful about what they say.” Mrs. Lockwood told her. The interview continued and as they were wrapping up, Mrs. Lockwood told her, “Don’t forget that practice for the formal dance will be at four this afternoon in the high school lunchroom.”

“I won’t.” Ellie assured her. “Thank you all for your time.”

She spent the rest of her free time with Jenna, dress hunting. When it came time for her to be in the lunchroom, Tyler was thankfully waiting in the parking lot for her to arrive. “Come on now princess, don’t want to be late.” He teased.

“Shut up.” She told him as they hurried into the lunchroom and fell in line with the others.

They were two down from where Elena and Stefan already were as Mrs. Lockwood greeted everyone. “Thank you all for being here, let’s jump right into it.” She started. “Now, first, honor your partner.” Everyone stepped closer to their partner as the girls curtsied and the boys bowed. “Let’s focus. Right hand around.” Tyler was making a face as they both held up their right hands and moved to the left. “Flirt with your eyes.” She said as the music began to play.

“She said flirt, not look like a crazy person.” Ellie said sarcastically.

“This is dumb.” Tyler replied. “You’re lucky I’m even doing it.”

“Left hand around.” Mrs. Lockwood said. Everyone was kind of quietly laughing at how silly the dance was. “Both hands.” Out of nowhere, Stefan spun Elena around and dropped her into a low dip as she laughed. “Oh, no, no, no, no. There’s no touching during this part. It’s about the simple intimacy of the near-touch.” She explained and Ellie was trying hard to not laugh at her sister getting scolded. “Very nice, Amber.” She praised as she moved back to her spot to direct them all.

“Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood.” Amber said sincerely. The music resumed and they continued following the instructions Mrs. Lockwood gave. Thankfully, the dance was actually quite simple and repetitive. Mrs. Lockwood eventually told the pairs that if they had the dance down, they were free to leave.

Most pairs had already stopped to head home when Caroline and Bonnie came in. “Bonnie.” Elena called in greeting. “Hey.”

“Hey. How are you?” Stefan asked. Ellie walked away from Tyler to where the four of them were standing a bit awkwardly.

There was a painfully awkward silence that followed his question, so Caroline spoke instead. “I begged Bonnie to fill in for Matt. He had to work today.”

“Bonnie, do you have a minute?” Elena asked.

“We only have thirty minutes for rehearsal.” Bonnie told her.

“It’ll only take a minute.” Elena replied. “Please?” There was definitely something going on with Elena and Bonnie, but Ellie didn’t know what could have caused the tension she was witnessing. After a second, Bonnie silently turned and headed back out of the room with Elena following. Ellie shared a confused look with Caroline, before they both looked over to Stefan who just gave them a smile.

“I’m gonna go tell Mrs. Lockwood that Bonnie’s filling in for Matt.” Caroline told Ellie before walking off.

Unable to help her curiosity, Ellie asked Stefan, “Did they have a fight or something that I don’t know about? Things seem a little tense.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. Maybe it has something to do with Elena really being the last person she saw before everything happened with her Grams. Maybe Elena reminds her of it.” Stefan suggested.

“Oh. I hadn’t even thought of that.” Ellie confessed. “It makes sense, now that you mention it. For a while after the accident, I hardly went anywhere if it meant riding in a car because I was so scared.” Stefan nodded in understanding. “Hopefully things get better between the two of them soon. It’s weird to see them like that.”

“I’m sure it will.” Stefan told her.

When it was clear their conversation was over, she walked back over to Tyler. “Hey, Ty, I think I’m gonna stick around while Bonnie and Caroline practice, but you don’t have to stay.” She told him.

* * *

After school, it was finally time to start getting things ready to go to the Miss Mystic Falls competition. “Ellie, do you have all of your makeup?” Jenna asked as the teenager was double checking all her things.

“Yes, and I’ve got both curling irons and my dress and my shoes.” Ellie told her. “Oh! And the accessories.” She added as she grabbed a smaller bag and put it into her purse. “Are you almost ready to go?”

“Yeah, can you zip me up? I’m sure Alaric will be here any minute now.” Jenna said. Ellie turned and zipped up Jenna’s dress carefully, making sure that she didn’t accidentally tug on any stray hairs. “He’s gonna drive us over there.”

“Thank god. Me in a car with John is not something I have the patience for today.” Ellie confessed. “I’m gonna go ahead and go downstairs. Um, maybe see if Jeremy’s riding with us or John?”

Jenna nodded. “Ok, go ahead. I’ll be down in just a second.”

She carefully made her way down the stairs and heard John say, “Alaric. Hey buddy. What are you doing here?”

“Well, I’m the chauffeur.” Mr. Saltzman told him. “Here, Ellie, let me get that dress.” He carefully took the dress from her hands as she made it down the last step.

“Oh, thanks. You look great, Mr. Saltzman.” She informed him with a grin.

“Oh, I actually thought I was driving.” John said as he took a step towards where Ellie and Mr. Saltzman stood.

As Jenna was walking down the stairs, she said, “Oh, no need. We’re going with Ric.” She looked more than a little pleased that they were leaving without John.

Mr. Saltzman just gave John a smile in response. “Are we ready?” Elena asked as she walked back into the room.

“Yeah, we are.” Ellie told her as she double checked all the things that she had.

“Jeremy can ride with you.” Jenna said to John as she moved to get the door. Once they walked out, Jenna just grinned at the girls. “That was satisfying.”

“Always is.” Ellie confirmed as they headed for Mr. Saltzman’s car. “Thank you for driving us, by the way.”

Mr. Saltzman gave her a bright smile. “It’s no problem.” He assured her as they placed their things in his trunk before he put their dresses down on top of everything else. 

It seemed like everything was a blur from getting to the event and trying to get ready. Mrs. Lockwood was like a ball of nervous energy. She wanted everything to go absolutely perfectly. If there was anyone in Mystic Falls that could compete with Caroline’s level of perfectionism, it would be Mrs. Lockwood. They had made it through the majority of what they needed to do to be ready, when Elena said to Jenna, “Thanks for helping me.”

“Don’t thank me until you’re sure your hair isn't going to burn off.” Jenna joked as the three of them laughed.

“You know, I remember when mom, Ellie, and I were first applying for this. She was so excited.” Elena told Jenna. Ellie felt the pull of sadness and grief. This was something their parents were supposed to see.

“So were the two of you, if I recall.” Jenna reminded them.

“I was. She just made it sound like so much fun.” Elena confessed. If Ellie tried, she could still hear the sound of her mother’s voice, excitedly telling them about the beautiful dresses. She could almost hear her mother telling her that it would make her feel like a princess. “Lots have changed since then.”

“Well, I hate to break it to you, but it’s a little late for cold feet.” Jenna told her as she fixed Elena’s curls.

“I don’t have cold feet. I just… I think I’d be enjoying it a lot more if she was here.” Elena admitted.

Ellie reached over to squeeze Elena’s hand. “Mom would be so proud of you, Elena.” Ellie said softly. 

“She’d be proud of both of you.” Jenna corrected. There was a moment of grief filled silence, before Jenna spoke again, “Well, I’ll tell you one thing. Your hair would have a better chance if she was.” 

The girls laughed again before Elena told them, “Ok, I should go put my dress on.” She looked over at Jenna, who was still holding the curling iron. “Be careful with that thing.” She warned and Ellie grinned as Elena added, “Don’t hurt anybody.”

“Ellie, do you need help with anything?” Jenna asked as she looked over Ellie’s appearance. Her hair was also curled, but where Elena’s was half up in a bun, Ellie had managed to put half of her hair up in braids that tucked into one another.

“Um… can you do the hairspray for me? I’m afraid I’ll miss a spot.” Ellie told her. Her aunt took the can and carefully sprayed her hair to keep it in place. “Thank you! I think I’m good, you can go flirt with Mr. Saltzman now.”

Jenna rolled her eyes at the comment. “You look beautiful, Ellie.” She said as she put the hairspray back on the table.

“Thank you.” Ellie replied with a smile. Jenna walked off as Ellie was putting the finishing touches on her makeup. Once she was done, she gave Caroline an overdramatic wink, causing the blonde to laugh at her. “Lookin good Forbes.” It seemed to calm Caroline down a bit. The blonde desperately wanted to win. “I’m gonna go get dressed. See you soon.” She made her way to the room that she’d been given to get dressed in, only to find Amber pacing nervously. “Amber? Is everything ok?”

“I don’t know if I can do this. I get panic attacks when I’m the center of attention.” Amber said as she wrung her hands together.

Ellie stepped over to the other girl and took her hands to hold in her own. “Amber, everything is going to be fine. You’ll look stunning, but you really need to go get dressed. Is there anything I can do?”

Amber pulled her hands away and shook her head. “I actually think that I’m gonna go get some air. Uh, thank you though. I’ll see you in a bit.” Amber said as she quickly exited the room. Ellie watched her go. She just hoped that Amber would be ok. 

Once she pulled on her dress and shoes, there was a knock on the door before Mrs. Lockwood stuck her head in. “Oh, Ellie, perfect. You look absolutely stunning dear. Come along, the girls are lining up.” Mrs. Lockwood said.

Ellie glanced over her appearance in the mirror before walking over to the stairs where a line of girls were. She watched as they walked down the stairs one by one as Elena kept glancing over the railing. “Miss Tina Fell, escorted by Bartholomew Whitmore.” There was a round of applause as she walked down the stairs.

“Has anyone seen Amber?” Mrs. Lockwood asked as she walked over to where Ellie was standing with Caroline and Elena was looking over the rail.

“Do you see Stefan down there?” Elena asked worriedly.

Both Caroline and Ellie walked over to the rail to look. When neither of them spotted the younger Salvatore, Caroline said, “Nope, just my boring fill-in escort.”

“What happened to Matt?” Elena asked.

Caroline sighed heavily. “They wouldn’t let him out of work. Wait, what happened to Stefan?”

“I don’t know. He just disappeared somewhere.” Elena admitted.

Ellie frowned. “That doesn’t sound like a Stefan thing to do. Is everything ok?”

“I don’t know. What am I doing?” Elena asked suddenly, not really answering Ellie’s question. “I never should have gone through with this.”

“What do you mean?” Caroline asked.

“I need to find Stefan. This isn’t me. I’m not this person anymore.” Elena said as she started to walk away.

“Uh, no, no, no, no, no way, no.” Caroline told her. “You had your chance to drop out. And believe me, I was all for it. Because there’s no way that I can beat you. Going up against one of you is bad enough. But with both of you in the race, I don’t stand a chance. But Elena, you and Ellie are doing this because it was important to your mom.”

“Miss Caroline Forbes.” Mayor Lockwood announced. “And her escort Jeffrey Lockwood Hamilton.” Caroline smiled at the two of them and began to walk down the stairs as the people below gave a round of applause.

“Elena, you’re next. Come on.” Mrs. Lockwood called and the twins went to stand next to the stairs.

“Miss Elena Gilbert escorted by Mr. Stefan Salvatore.” There was a round of applause as Elena began her walk and Ellie watched anxiously when she only saw Tyler and Amber’s escort standing there. Damon stepped in out of nowhere, and it was the one time Ellie felt anything other than annoyance towards the older Salvatore. It would have been awful if Elena had been left hanging. “Miss Ellie Gilbert escorted by Mr. Tyler Lockwood.” Mayor Lockwood announced and Ellie put on her best smile as she moved down the staircase. It was a relief that Tyler was with her. There was no chance that he would let her get nervous. 

It was surprising how loud the applause was when she was actually down the stairs. Tyler took her hand and they moved outside. “You ready?” Tyler whispered, careful enough to not make it obvious that he was talking.

“As I’ll ever be.” She confessed as she stepped into place beside Elena as Tyler stood in front of her. The music began and they all stepped forward to honor their partner. The dance was easy and everyone moved together. It was fortunate that no one messed up and before long they all were back in the place where they started as the music came to an end.

They were eventually taken to line up on stage, but Amber was still nowhere to be found. “Where’s Amber?” Caroline whispered.

“I don’t know.” Ellie replied as Mayor Lockwood made his way on stage.

“Before I crown the winner, I’d like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community.” Mayor Lockwood said before the audience gave a round of applause. “So, without further ado, it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls, Miss Caroline Forbes!”

Caroline’s eyes went wide in shock and Ellie didn’t hesitate to throw her arms around her friend to hug her tightly. “Congratulations!” She said excitedly.

“I actually won!” Caroline said in surprise as she hugged her back.

“I knew you would!” Ellie assured her. They pulled apart and Caroline stepped forward to let Mayor Lockwood place the Miss Mystic Falls banner on her. Ellie clapped as loud as she could, cheering on Caroline proudly. This was something Caroline very much deserved. When the girls were finally allowed offstage, Ellie pulled Caroline into another hug. “I’m so happy for you!” She told her. 

Caroline was absolutely beaming. “I thought for sure it was gonna be you or Elena. I never thought I would win.”

“Come on, we need pictures.” Ellie said as they moved offstage to look for the photographer. Countless people congratulated Caroline as they moved about and Caroline was smiling brightly the whole time. Ellie honestly wasn’t sure if she remembered the last time Caroline was as happy as this. They found the photographer and took more photos than they probably should have asked for, but the woman was kind and promised to get them both copies quickly.

“This is the best day ever.” Caroline confessed. “It just would have been perfect if Matt had been here.”

“I’m sure he’ll find some way to make it up to you.” Ellie told her as she gave her a suggestive look.

Caroline just laughed. “You’re something else.” Caroline groaned.

“Oh, Ellie! There you are.” Jenna said as she stopped. “Also congratulations Caroline, you deserve it.”

“Thank you Jenna.” Caroline replied.

“Hate to cut it short, but are you ready to leave, Ellie?” Jenna asked.

“Oh, yeah! I just need to get my stuff.” Ellie told her before she gave Caroline another hug. “I’m really really proud of you.” She said sincerely and Caroline blushed under the praise. “I’ll see you later, winner. Come on, Jenna, I gotta get my stuff.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I'm so sorry that this chapter is late. I was having to work on a house that I'm renovating and didn't get the chance to update because there's only a couple of weeks to get everything ready before moving in. So hopefully if there's any other issues that effect my updating it should only be next week. Also today is the four month anniversary of this fic, so happy anniversary guys!
> 
> Posted: 6/14/20


	20. Blood Brothers

**Chapter 20: Blood Brothers**

_ February 15, 2010 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ Things seem to be weird again, but at this point I wonder if things had ever gone back to normal in the first place. Ever since Stefan bailed on Elena at the Miss Mystic Falls competition, well I haven’t seen him at all. He seems to miss an insane amount of school honestly. Maybe he gets sick a bunch? Elena has also been spending her nights somewhere else, but she won’t tell me where she’s going. I wonder if Jenna even knows. Jeremy seems to be happier than ever, but I think that’s because he’s been spending a lot of time with Anna. _

_ On the less pleasant side, Uncle John is still here. I have no idea why. Things between Elena and Bonnie also still seem to not be right. It’s kind of making me doubt Stefan’s whole suggestion of it being because Elena was the last person she’d seen. Surely she would have readjusted to hanging out with Elena if that had been the case. _

After school, Ellie met up with Caroline and Bonnie at the blonde’s car. “Come on, you guys. We are having a slightly late best friend Valentine’s party.” Caroline told them as they all got into her car. “It’s gonna be so much fun!”

“By a late best friend Valentine’s party, do you mean eating at The Grill and then going back to your place and crying over Titanic and The Notebook?” Ellie joked. Caroline shot her a dirty look as Bonnie laughed.

“I’m not gonna cry.” Caroline scoffed.

“You have literally cried every time we have ever watched either of those movies Caroline. You can’t lie to me.” Ellie shot back.

“It’s true.” Bonnie nodded. “You cry every time.”

Caroline scowled at being called out. “Ok, listen, they’re sad ok.” She huffed as she pulled out of the parking lot. “Anyways, Ellie do you have any clue what is up with Elena? I asked her if she wanted to hang out with us and she was just all like ‘uh, I have something I have to do, sorry.’ Like that is so totally vague! She’s been sketchy lately.” Caroline complained.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed it too, but I have no clue what’s going on with her.” Ellie confessed. “I don’t know if it’s like Stefan drama or whatever but she’s not really talked to me about anything. So I'm as clueless as you.” Bonnie seemed a little uncomfortable, though Ellie had no clue why. Despite not knowing, Ellie changed the subject. “So, Bonnie, how’s all your make up work going?”

Bonnie shrugged. “It’s a bit more than I expected it to be, honestly. I mean it’s not like it’s really hard, it’s just a lot.”

“Math?” Caroline asked.

“Math.” Bonnie confirmed. “Why does Mr. Jones always have to assign a million problems for homework? And then he takes forever and a day to grade! Like if you can’t get them all graded quickly, then why do you expect me to do thirty problems in a night? I have other classes y’know.”

“I guess you’re lucky that I kept a copy of all of my work.” Ellie told her.

Bonnie whipped around in her seat, eyes wide and hopeful. “Please tell me you’re not messing with me. Like don’t joke about that.” She said seriously.

Caroline was trying hard not to laugh at Bonnie. “I’m a saint, I know.” Ellie said after she let Bonnie panic for a moment. “I knew you were gonna be up to your eyeballs in homework, and it’s not like it was hard to make sure I had a copy for you to use.”

“I love you.” Bonnie said gratefully before she relaxed back into her seat. They had a good time at The Grill, laughing and gossiping about everything that had happened while Bonnie was away. At least, that’s what they were doing until Matt showed up for work. It wasn’t long before Caroline was walking around with him and talking while he cleaned tables. “They’re adorable.” Bonnie commented as Matt and Caroline laughed at something Matt had said.

“He’s good for her. She deserves someone like him.” Ellie agreed as she swirled her straw around her cup. “Hey, Bon. Can I ask you something?”

“What’s up?” Bonnie replied as she turned her focus back to Ellie.

“How are you?” Ellie asked her. Bonnie tensed at the question. “And I’m not asking so you can lie and say ‘I’m fine’ and that be the end of it. I really want to know.”

Bonnie pulled at the napkin she was holding, and Ellie watched as the other witch struggled to figure out what to say. “It’s been hard.” Bonnie finally confessed. “Sometimes, I’m totally fine, and then other times it’s like all I wanna do is scream and I’m so mad. I didn’t want to come back.”

Ellie reached over to hold Bonnie’s hand. “I get it. When my mom and dad died, it was like I couldn’t decide on what I felt. Sometimes I didn’t feel anything. Other times I was so, so angry. I was angry at Elena for making us go home. I was angry at myself for not stopping her from going in the first place. And then other times I was so sad that it felt like I was drowning all over again.” Ellie confessed.

“How did you survive it?” Bonnie asked softly. “It’s like I can’t get my emotions under control sometimes.”

“It’s not easy.” Ellie told her. “And I don’t have an easy answer. You saw how differently Jeremy, Elena, and I reacted. Jeremy went heavy on the drugs and Elena liked to pretend that everything was fine when it wasn’t.”

“What about you?”

Ellie shrugged. “I was kind of numb for a while, but after that I just tried to push it out of my head. The less I thought about it the better.” She admitted. “It might not have been the healthiest method, but it could have been worse. How have you been coping?”

“Kind of the way you did I guess. While I was gone I did everything I could to just not think about it. Not to think about her or Mystic Falls.” Bonnie explained.

“Can I ask, what exactly happened to her? She didn’t seem like she was sick.” Ellie asked softly. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Bonnie opened her mouth to speak before stopping. It was clear that she wasn’t sure whether or not she should tell Ellie anything. The way Miss Sheila had died had bothered Ellie since she found out that the older witch had passed away. She’d never said anything to Ellie about being sick. “Ok, but you have to keep it a secret. You can’t tell anyone I told you this. Not even Elena.” Bonnie said seriously.

Ellie sat up straighter as her mind started throwing out a million possible things that could have happened. Bonnie always told Elena everything, so what was so bad that Bonnie didn’t want her best friend to know. The Bennett witch leaned forward so that they wouldn’t be heard. “I’ll keep it a secret.” Ellie assured her.

“The night when Grams died… something happened.” Bonnie confessed quietly. “We had done a spell, like a really big spell. It didn’t go the way it was supposed to. With magic, there’s only so much you can do before it takes a toll on your body.” Bonnie stopped suddenly as her eyes started to water. “It did more damage to her than me.” Ellie grabbed Bonnie’s shaking hands to try and give the witch comfort. “I don’t know why it was worse for her. I thought she was just weak after the spell. I thought that she would be fine after she rested for a bit.” Her voice was shaking and Ellie could see the guilt written all over Bonnie’s face. “When I went to check on her… she was gone.”

Bonnie looked so fragile. It made sense now why Bonnie didn’t want to come back, especially if Bonnie blamed herself for Miss Sheila’s death. “Bon, hey Bonnie look at me.” Ellie insisted. When Bonnie looked at her, Ellie told her, “It was  _ not _ your fault. Ok? You know that right?”

“Yes it was. If I had been better then maybe I could have kept her alive.” Bonnie told her.

“Stop that. Bonnie Bennett if you had known that doing that spell was going to do that to her, you never would have done it. I know it. You know it. She knew it too. Whatever spell you did, I’m sure she knew there was always a risk of something going wrong. And I’m sure she wouldn’t let you beat yourself up like this.” Ellie said sharply. “You are a good person and you better not forget it.”

“I’m not so sure anymore.”

“Well I am. I’m sure enough for the both of us.” Ellie told her. She had absolutely no doubts on whether or not Bonnie was a good person. “And if you still want to doubt yourself, I’ll let you know one thing that absolutely proves you’re a good person.”

Bonnie scoffed. “Yeah? What’s that?”

“I’m sitting here and I’m watching you as guilt eats you from the inside out. A bad person wouldn’t be so upset.” Ellie told her. After a moment, Ellie asked, “If I can ask… what was the spell anyways? What were you guys doing? I somehow doubt that a little spell would have done that to her.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Bonnie responded immediately as she pulled back from Ellie. “I’m sorry.”

“No, no. it’s ok. I’m sorry if I upset you by asking.” Ellie apologized. The memory of collapsing at that party the day Miss Sheila died pushed to the forefront of her mind. As soon as it did, Ellie glanced down and spotted her bracelet wrapped around Bonnie’s wrist. Had Bonnie been wearing the bracelet when they performed the spell? Miss Sheila had once told her that if she tried to do too much and overwhelmed herself, that she could get nose bleeds or pass out. 

When Emily had possessed Bonnie, she’d asked for Ellie’s bracelet. Ellie passed out shortly after she’d given it to the dead witch. If Ellie could use items of importance to do locator spells or channel ghosts, and if she could channel things like fire and water for strength, was it really that much of a stretch to assume that Bonnie and Emily could somehow use Ellie’s bracelet to channel her? Was that why Emily had wanted her bracelet in the first place? Could witches really use other witches to make themselves stronger? “Ellie?” Bonnie asked.

“Huh?”

“Are you ok? You got this really far away look just now.” Bonnie told her.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just got lost in thought for a second there.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. But suddenly Ellie had questions that she really needed answers for. If Bonnie had channeled her, surely the other girl didn’t realize. Bonnie had never shown any indication that she was aware that Ellie was a witch. Miss Sheila had never said anything about telling Bonnie either. If Bonnie had channeled her, was it an accident? Was Bonnie channelling Ellie the reason why Bonnie hadn’t gotten hurt? Ellie’s phone ringing pulled her out of her thoughts. “Hello?” She asked as she answered the call.

_ “Hey! Can you do me a favor?” _ Jenna asked her.

“What’s up?”

_ “I really need some supplies for the presentation I have to do, but I’m stuck at campus right now. Do you think you could go to the store and get them for me? I know you’re hanging out with Caroline and Bonnie and I’m really sorry to interrupt, but Jeremy and Elena won’t answer their phones.” _

Ellie could hear the desperation in her aunt’s voice. It wouldn’t surprise her if her thesis advisor was stressing her out again. “Yeah, of course. It’s not a problem, Jen. Just send me a list of what you need. Do I need to bring it to you on campus?”

_ “Oh my god, would you? You would literally be saving my life!” _

“I’ll bring it to you. Just send me a list and I’ll get to the store as soon as I can.” Ellie assured her.

_ “Thank you so much! You’re the best niece ever! I love you!” _

“I’m gonna tell Elena you said.” Ellie laughed. “I love you too!” As she hung up the phone, she gave Bonnie a regretful look. “Jenna needs presentation supplies.” She explained. Bonnie nodded in understanding as Ellie called over to Caroline. “Care! Stop flirting with Matt for a second and come here.”

The blonde gave her a dirty look as Matt laughed. “What do you want?” Caroline said with a fake glare.

“Jenna needs me to run errands for her. I need you to take me home so I can get my car.” Ellie explained.

Caroline’s expression turned into an unhappy one. “But The Notebook! Titanic! You’ve gotta be the Jack to my Rose!” She groaned.

“I know, I know the world is ending.” Ellie replied with a laugh. “But Jenna needs stuff for her presentation and she’s stuck at campus and Elena and Jeremy are being lame and not answering their phones. Bonnie can be your Jack for today.”

“You better never let go, Jack.” Caroline told Bonnie as she tried to keep her expression serious. Bonnie and Ellie tried to not laugh, really, they did. But when Caroline’s expression didn’t waver, they couldn’t help the way they dissolved into giggles.

* * *

After Ellie had delivered the supplies to Jenna, she found that she couldn’t think about anything other than the questions about Miss Sheila’s death. She found herself driving to the house and moved quickly to the room she always went to. “Hello Ellie.” Emily said in greeting as the flames of the candles shot to life. “You seem troubled.”

“I am troubled.” Ellie confessed as she paced around the room. “I talked to Bonnie, but I feel like now I have more questions than I do answers. And I can’t ask more questions to try and get answers when Bonnie is still completely clueless to the fact that I’m a witch.”

“So you came to me to see if I could provide some insight.” Emily supplied. It wasn’t a question.

“Why did you ask for my bracelet when we first spoke? Back when you had possessed Bonnie.” Ellie asked. “Why did you want it? She’s still wearing it.”

“The ability to channel another witch to increase your power can be very handy in times of need.” Emily told her. “I could not risk your safety for what I had planned to do, but channeling you made things much easier.”

“So you can channel witches.” Ellie said in surprise as she stopped pacing.

“You would be surprised by the things you can channel.” Emily said vaguely.

“Bonnie told me that when Miss Sheila died, they had done a spell, clearly a big one. If Bonnie was still wearing my bracelet when they did it, could she have accidentally channeled me?” Ellie asked.

There was a pause before Emily replied, “If she was under too much strain, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for her to accidentally channel you. Especially if she was trying to draw in as much power as possible.” 

“What would have happened if she hadn’t channeled me?” Ellie asked quietly. She wasn’t sure she really wanted to hear the answer to that.

“She most likely would have felt the effects more than she did. She wouldn’t have recovered so easily.” Emily admitted. “The spell they performed required a great deal of magical strength, more than they had to give.”

Ellie looked up sharply, even though she couldn’t see Emily in a physical form. “Wait, you know what spell they did? Bonnie wouldn’t tell me.” At Emily’s silence, Ellie asked, “Emily, what spell was it?”

“There are some things that you need not know of. Not yet.” Emily replied.

“But I could have helped!”

“Sheila did not want to get you involved. That was not a decision she made lightly. She was trying to protect you and Bonnie.” Emily said calmly. “Sometimes, ignorance really can be bliss.”

“Not when it costs people their lives.” Ellie argued. “If I had been there to help, maybe the three of us together could have been enough.”

“It does you no good to dwell on the possibilities now. What’s done is done.” Emily reminded her. 

Ellie just sighed in defeat. “You can’t even tell me what the spell was?” She questioned.

“It’s best that you don’t know.” Emily told her. “It is unlikely that you will remain in the dark forever. There are things that you don’t yet know. You should enjoy that freedom while it lasts.” It almost sounded like a warning, but Ellie had no clue how the spell could be that bad. Unless Emily wasn’t just talking about the spell.

“Is there a way for me to talk to Miss Sheila? Like how I talk to you?” Ellie questioned. She missed the older witch terribly. 

“It is not wise.” Emily told her.

“Why not?” Ellie asked. Even though she wouldn’t admit it, the question came out like a whine.

“You need to be able to grieve properly. You need to heal. Seeing her as a ghost wouldn’t do you any good.” Emily explained. “But know that she is watching over you. She watches over you and Bonnie and the rest of your friends.”

She couldn’t decide if that put her at ease or not. “Is she… is she ok?” Ellie asked softly. “I didn’t get to say goodbye.”

“She’s alright, Ellie.” Emily assured her.

“Wait… did she know there was a chance she was going to die?” Ellie asked as she thought back to the last moment she’d had with Miss Sheila when the older woman had made sure to tell her that she’d been proud of Ellie.

Emily didn’t speak straight away. When she did, she chose her words carefully. “When it comes to large and complex spells, there is always a chance something terrible may happen. It would not surprise me if she was aware of the danger and wanted to make sure you knew how she felt without raising your suspicions.” 

“I can’t…” Ellie said softly. Her voice was shaky and she felt like there was so much energy building inside of her. Had Miss Sheila thought that Ellie wouldn’t be of use? Even if it wasn’t intentional, Ellie felt like a failure. She should have done something to protect Bonnie and her grams. There was a pain in her chest that she couldn’t explain. She couldn’t stop the scream of frustration that tore from her throat nor could she stop the scream of panic when the mirrors in the room shattered.

“Ellie.” She could hear Emily but the ghost sounded so far away. “Ellie.” The witch repeated. “You need to breathe.” Emily instructed. Ellie stared in shock at the shards of the broken mirrors. It felt like someone had splashed cold water on the teenager and she stumbled back in surprise. “Ellie,  _ focus _ .” Emily insisted.

“Did I do that?” Ellie whispered. There were pieces of the mirrors all around her as she looked at the damage.

“Yes.” Emily told her honestly. “Sometimes, when your emotions run too high, it can cause reactions like this. You have done nothing that can’t be undone.”

That was good at least. She didn’t want to cause damage that couldn't be repaired. “I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s alright. You are not the first witch to do something like this nor will you be the last.” Emily reminded her.

“How do I fix it?” Ellie questioned.

“To repair broken objects, focus on what is broken and say  _ Venez très connu cendre _ .” Emily said.

Ellie carefully walked over to the first mirror and began to chant, “ _ Venez très connu cendre. Venez très connu cendre. Venez très connu cendre. _ ” As she chanted, she watched the pieces return to the mirror as the cracks repaired themselves. Once the first one was repaired, she moved onto the next. She let herself find a kind of comfort in the repetition of fixing them. By the time the last mirror was repaired, her breathing had slowed and the energy that had built up inside her no longer felt like a balloon that was on the verge of popping.

“Are you alright?” Emily asked after a while.

She shook her head. “No.” Ellie told her truthfully. “No, I’m not ok. But I don’t know how to fix it.” She hesitated before finally sighing and saying, “I think I’m just gonna go home. I’m tired.” If Emily tried to stop her, Ellie wasn’t aware. The young witch just tried to drown everything out as she tried to get home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Please leave a comment and let me know what you thought! We're almost to season 2!
> 
> Posted: 6/21/20


	21. Isobel

Chapter 21: Isobel

_ February 16, 2010 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ I found something out yesterday while I was out with Bonnie and Caroline, and part of me wishes I hadn’t. There is this guilt that feels like it’s trying to eat me up. Whether I should blame myself or not is irrelevant because I blame myself anyways. She should have told me. I could have helped. But she didn’t and now she’s gone. I should have put the pieces together sooner. The nose bleed should have given it away that something was wrong. Maybe if I had gone with Elena over to their place, I would have realized something was wrong. Maybe I could have saved her. I know ‘what ifs’ are dangerous. I learned that lesson when mom and dad died, but still I can’t help but blame myself for not doing more. _

By the time Ellie had arrived at the school, it was already packed with students that were working on different projects to prepare for Founder’s Day. She spotted Matt and Tyler sitting at a table together looking incredibly awkward. It was very clear that Matt was still beyond pissed with Tyler for what had happened between Tyler and Matt’s mom. She sat down next to Tyler and saw the way the tension in his shoulders loosened. “Has anything big happened yet?” She asked as she decidedly ignored the tension.

“Nothing yet. Mr. Saltzman went to get some papers.” Matt told her.

A moment later, Mr. Saltzman approached with a stack of papers in his hand. “Good to see you, Ellie.” He told her before he addressed the group. “So these are the specs for the history department’s Founder’s Day float.” He explained as he passed out some of the papers. “We’re gonna be recreating the Battle of Willow Creek. Tyler’s been nominated the head of production design.”

“By who?” Tyler questioned as his head shot up.

“By me.” Mr. Saltzman informed him. “I’ve seen your sketches, and they’re good.”

Ellie grinned as she watched Tyler as he tried to come up with some way to get out of the situation. “Look, I’m not really into the whole…”

“Yeah, well, you just pick your team, be creative, and uh… and don’t screw up.” Mr. Saltzman told him before looking at something or someone behind Tyler and Ellie and walking off.

“Great.” Tyler said sarcastically. “You want to help me out with this?” 

Matt looked up at Tyler and bluntly told him, “Not really, no.”

“What the fuck?” Tyler muttered as he looked over to Ellie for help. “How did I get roped into this?” He complained.

She scoffed at him. “That’s what you get for being a talented artist I guess.”

“Do  _ you  _ want to help me?” Tyler asked her.

It was funny to watch him try and get it out of it. “Nope, I’m actually supposed to be helping Caroline.” Ellie said as she scanned the room for the sight of her blonde friend. “Oh! Found her. So I’ll get going. Enjoy… all of this.” When she saw his annoyed look, she laughed and assured him, “You’ll be just fine.”

“Perfect! You’re here right on time.” Caroline told her with a grin. “Take a seat so I can show you guys.”

Ellie pulled up a chair next to Bonnie as she set her stuff down on the table. “Alright, show us.” Bonnie said once Ellie was settled.

“Let’s reference last year’s Miss Mystic Float.” Caroline told them as she searched the image up on her laptop. “This is what they did last year.” She turned her laptop around to show them the image. “And it’s exactly what we  _ don’t _ want to do.”

Bonnie and Ellie both made faces at the entirely unimpressive float. “Ew.” Bonnie told her as she wrinkled her nose.

“They actually had the audacity to put a cheap plastic lawn chair on the Miss Mystic Float?” Ellie asked. “This is literally the saddest float I have ever seen in my entire life. What were they thinking?”

“I know right?” Caroline replied. “Not to mention they used even cheaper plastic flowers. The bouquets they made don’t even look good and they aren’t consistent either. It’s like they just threw them in the pot and said ‘eh, good enough’.”

“I hate to be rude but there is nothing impressive about this float. Definitely not good enough to be a Miss Mystic Float.” Bonnie confessed. “Ok. So, what are we doing?”

“Southern classic elegance.” Caroline said as she straightened her back for effect.

“Gone With the Wind?” Bonnie and Ellie asked at the same time.

“How did you guys know?” Caroline asked in surprise as her eyes went wide.

Bonnie smiled at her. “You channel Scarlett daily.” She informed the blonde.

Caroline opened her mouth to protest but just dropped her shoulders and agreed, “So true.”

“It’s like your lifestyle.” Ellie told her as the girls laughed.

“Ugh, where’s Elena? She’s supposed to be helping.” Caroline asked as she looked around. “Did she not come with you, Ellie?” 

Ellie shook her head as she too tried to find her sister among the other students. “No, I think Stefan was gonna pick her up this morning. Maybe? But when I left she was still straightening her hair.”

“Bonnie have you heard from her?” Caroline asked.

The witch just shrugged. “I don’t know.” She said, but it sounded like she really couldn’t care less.

“Ok, what’s the deal?” Caroline finally asked as she gave Bonnie a look that made it clear that she wanted the truth.

“What do you mean?” Bonnie questioned with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Don’t play dumb.” Caroline shot back. “You and Elena are fighting. Spill.” 

“It’s nothing.” Bonnie told her, but it pretty much confirmed that Elena and Bonnie were in fact fighting.

Caroline didn’t believe it for a second. “It’s not nothing. You know, this whole float is supposed to be about friends creating something together, and everyone is fighting. Matt and Tyler  _ hate  _ each other. You and Elena are on the outs. I… I don’t like it.” Bonnie just shrugged at her. “And I can’t fix it if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“I can’t talk about it, Caroline. I’m sorry.” Bonnie apologized. Caroline looked over to Ellie for help, but the witch had none to give.

The way Bonnie spoke made Ellie doubt Stefan’s suggestion of it just being because Elena had been there when Miss Sheila died. It was more serious than that. Ellie couldn’t remember a time she’d ever seen Bonnie and Elena fight, at all. Caroline and Elena had had issues in the past over stupid things. Caroline and Bonnie had been in a fight over that necklace from Damon that had ended up belonging to Emily. Elena and Ellie had had fights like all siblings do at some point. The last argument that could maybe be considered a fight between Bonnie and Ellie had been when they were younger and Ellie had accidentally broken Bonnie’s doll and Bonnie didn’t talk to her for a week. Elena and Bonnie however, Ellie wasn’t sure they’d  _ ever _ fought. “Bonnie…” Ellie started.

“Really. I don’t want to talk about it.” Bonnie insisted as she shifted in her seat, almost like she was trying to brace herself if she pushed them for answers.

“It’s ok.” Caroline told her as she reached out to squeeze Bonnie’s hand reassuringly. “We won’t push. But I hope you know that if you need to, or want to, me and Ellie are here whenever you need us.”

“Thank you.” Bonnie said gratefully. Whether her gratitude came from the offer or from the fact that they weren’t going to force an answer out of her, Ellie couldn’t be sure. She just wished there was something that she could do to help. They all shifted back to the topic of the Miss Mystic Float and got to work.

Once they were done, Ellie headed back home and found Jenna in the kitchen. “Hey Ellie, how was float preparation?” Jenna asked as she dug around in the kitchen cabinets.

“It was good. Caroline is channeling Gone With the Wind.” Ellie explained as she passed a plate to Jenna.

Her aunt laughed lightly. “She’s a bit obsessed with that movie.” Jenna commented as she pulled out the bread. “Do you want a sandwich?”

“She is a bit obsessed and no thank you.” Ellie agreed. “But I think the floats are going to look good. Mr. Saltzman has declared Tyler as the one to come up with the design for the history float.”

“Mmm, that should turn out pretty good. From what you’ve told me about Tyler’s art, he’s pretty good at it.” Jenna said.

Ellie followed Jenna over to the table and replied, “Oh, Tyler’s art is fantastic, but he tends to downplay it. He tried, unsuccessfully might I add, to get out of it. It was entertaining to watch.”

“Him and Matt still fighting?” 

“It’s not so much Matt and Tyler fighting it’s more… Matt hating Tyler’s guts and Tyler being absolute garbage when it comes to apologizing, even when he knows he should.” Ellie explained. “Ty knows he messed up really badly, but he has no clue how to fix it. He’s been giving Matt time I guess, which is probably a smart move. I just hope they make up soon.” Jenna nodded along with her. “Speaking of fighting… has Elena mentioned anything to you about what’s going on with her and Bonnie?”

Jenna looked up in surprise. “What? Something’s up with her and Bonnie? She hasn’t mentioned it to me at all. I didn’t know it was possible for the two of them to get into a fight.”

“I know. But something has totally been up with them. They’ve hardly talked at all. Caroline tried to see if Bonnie would tell us anything and she just kind of shut us down and Care didn’t want to push too much.” Ellie told her.

“If I hear anything from Elena, I’ll let you know.” Jenna assured her.

They could hear Jeremy coming down the stairs and turned as he walked into the kitchen saying, “Hey Anna. Uh, where are you? What’s up? Uh… give me a call when you get this.” Jenna said before he just sighed and hung up the phone.

“How is Anna?” Jenna asked him. “I like that girl. She has fire.” Jenna told him as she grinned.

“Uh, I… I don’t know.” Jeremy confessed. “She won’t return my calls.”

“Girl trouble?” John asked as he walked into the room.

Jenna looked over to John before giving Ellie a look of annoyance. “No, no trouble. Anna just owes me a call. That’s it.” Jeremy told him.

“Is it the girl that I saw you with at the Founder’s Day pageant?” John inquired. Jeremy just nodded. “So you two are gettin’ pretty hot and heavy, huh? When was the last time you saw her?”

Jeremy glanced at Ellie and Jenna for help, but they just shook their heads at him, not wanting to deal with him either. “Why?”

“I’m just making conversation. No one else in this house likes me.” John said bluntly and Ellie choked on her laugh. She coughed to cover it, but Jenna’s grin told her that she didn’t do a very good job. “At least I can talk to you, especially if you need someone to talk to about girls.”

“Ugh, please. I’m eating.” Jenna said in a disgusted voice as she scoffed before quickly taking her plate and walking off.

Once Jenna was gone, John stepped towards Jeremy. “So, seriously, how well do you know Anna?”

“I know Anna  _ extremely  _ well.” Jeremy told him confidently.

“Uh huh. Well, know that you can talk to me about anything.” John reminded him. “I’m here to answer any questions that you have. I’ll help you in any way I can.”

Jeremy had a serious expression on his face, almost defensive. It was like John and Jeremy were standing before her having a conversation that she wasn’t understanding. There was some sort of double meaning to what they were saying, but she didn’t know what. “Why?” Jeremy asked him.

“Cause your dad would want me to.” John said. It sounded like an actual honest answer for once.

The mention of their dad had an immediate effect on the youngest Gilbert. His eyes went wide as he just said, “I’m uh, I’m good.”

Jeremy walked off and John turned to Ellie. “The same goes for you, Ellie. Anything you need to talk about, I’m here.” He told her. There was a hint of honesty and it almost made her feel bad for not liking him all that much, but something about him just kind of gave her a bad vibe. Like he was lying about something and whatever it was, it was important. Maybe it was some witch instinct, or just natural intuition, but it was enough to leave her wary of him.

“Thanks.” She said before she ignored him to go put away the sandwich stuff that Jenna had left out.

* * *

A lot of students turned out to build the floats. The actual construction of them was actually pretty fun. Currently, Ellie was standing next to Matt as he lifted up a heavy piece of the float to place it where it was needed. “Oh, be careful.” She told him as she held out her hands to make sure that he didn’t fall or accidentally drop it.

He gave her a smile once he set it down. “I’m being careful.” He assured her.

“Hey man.” Tyler said as he approached the two of them cautiously. “Hey Ellie.”

“Yeah?” Matt asked without really looking at Tyler.

“So… Caroline tells me you’ve been on your own the past two weeks.” Tyler told him as he fiddled with a piece of the float. “Is everything ok?” He asked as he passed part of the float to Matt.

“You’re asking me about my mom. Seriously?” Matt asked in disbelief as he continued to work. “Look man, why don’t I just have her give you a call when she blows back through town?” He asked sarcastically.

“Dude…” Tyler said as he held up his hands. “That’s not what I meant. Ok, I’m just trying to… I don’t know what to say.” He admitted.

“Well good man. Don’t say anything, cause you’re a dick. End of story.” Matt said bluntly.

“I know…” Tyler agreed. Matt turned and walked off, leaving Ellie with Tyler. “Yeah, whatever.” He huffed.

Ellie sighed as she reached out to grab his arm. “Just give it more time, Ty.” She consoled. “He’s going through a lot. So his emotions are probably still running really high.” He looked frustrated and she understood it.

He ran his hands through his hair as he groaned. “I  _ know _ but…” He trailed off. Even when he wasn’t talking to Matt, he still didn’t know how to express his guilt. “I fucked up Ellie, and I know that and me not knowing how to fix it is definitely not helping. Hell, even Caroline has been trying to come up with some way to help me fix it. I don’t even think she likes me and she’s trying to help.”

“Caroline is a fixer and she doesn’t like Matt being upset. This won’t last forever, even though what you did was bad.” She told him. Well, it was her hope that their fight wouldn’t last forever.

“Yeah, ok.” Tyler said and it was clear that he didn’t believe her before he turned and walked off.

She wanted to call out to him, to make him feel better, but she didn’t know what to say either. They both knew he’d screwed up big time and it seemed like something big would have to happen to fix it. “Hey, Ellie, Caroline’s looking for you.” Nina, a girl from Ellie’s science class, told her as she approached. “She’s been looking for you everywhere.”

“Oh, shoot. Where is she?” Ellie asked as she looked around. 

“Over on the Miss Mystic float.” Nina said as she pointed to the left.

Ellie could see her friend sitting up on the float sorting through streamers. “Ok, thanks.” Ellie said as she headed over to Caroline. “Heard you were looking for me.”

“Thank god!” Caroline huffed as she pulled up onto the float with her. “I have been looking all over for you. Some of the people just do  _ not _ understand the vision I’m going for here.” She whined. “Will you help me?”

“Of course, your majesty.” Ellie said with a dramatic curtsey. They got to work, carefully placing the streamers onto the float while making sure everything was in just the right spot before securing them in place. “Tyler has made absolutely no progress with Matt.” Ellie informed her with a sigh. “I don’t know what’s going to fix it.”

Caroline groaned loudly. “Matt’s more stubborn than he realizes I swear!” Caroline huffed. “I’ll keep trying to think of something to help Tyler fix it.” When they really focused on getting the details just right, they fell into silence. It hadn’t been long that they’d fallen into the silence before Ellie’s head snapped up to look around in a panic. Something was wrong. It was like the air had shifted in a warning. “You ok?” Caroline asked her when she noticed that something was wrong.

“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Ellie dismissed.

“I’m gonna grab a hammer. I’ll be right back.” Caroline told her after she decided that Ellie was ok. The witch nodded without really paying attention to what Caroline was saying. The blonde had walked off and Ellie ended up standing on the float trying to see what could be giving her such a bad feeling.

Out of nowhere, Matt let out a scream of pain. “Matt!” Ellie yelled as she jumped from the float and ran towards him.

“Hey, pick this trailer up! Come on, guys, lift it up! Please!” Matt was screaming.

Tyler reached him before Ellie did and the Lockwood immediately grabbed the trailer and started trying to lift it. “Give me a hand!” Tyler shouted as several football boys rushed to help. “Come on, lift!”

It wasn’t working, Matt screamed, “Come on!” Stefan ran up and helped. That seemed to do the trick because the trailer lifted and Matt yanked his arm out.

“Oh my god, Matt.” Ellie said as she reached him.

Caroline dropped down beside where Ellie and Matt were on the ground. “Caroline, call an ambulance.” Stefan told her. “Call an ambulance.”

“Ok.” Caroline replied as she stood back up to call for help. A moment later, Caroline returned and said, “The ambulance is saying fifteen to twenty minutes.”

“I have my car. I can take him to the hospital.” Tyler offered.

Even in the middle of what had to be an insane amount of pain, Matt was still angry enough at Tyler to say, “Caroline can take me.”

“I didn’t drive.” Caroline admitted.

“Then I’ll wait. It’s fine.” Matt snapped.

“You will not wait! Ok, you need to see a doctor. Tyler’s driving. End of story.” Caroline said with finality.

“Fine.” Matt huffed.

“Go!” Caroline yelled at Tyler when he hadn’t moved yet.

“I’ll bring my car around.” Tyler said before he turned and ran off.

Matt was trying hard to not cry out in pain as he rocked back and forth. “It’s gonna be ok.” Caroline tried to comfort him. “Everything will be fine.” She kept repeating it to try and distract Matt. “Look, come on there’s Tyler.” She stood first before offering her hands to take Matt’s undamaged one to help pull him up. Ellie moved behind him to help him stand as well. 

Tyler opened the passenger’s door for him and Caroline helped Matt get in and buckled. “Ty, I’m gonna come with you ok.” Ellie told him and then dropped her voice to a whisper and added, “Maybe me being a buffer will help a bit.”

“Thank you.” Tyler whispered back. “Caroline, Ellie’s gonna go with us.”

Caroline’s shoulders dropped in relief. “Ok thank god. That’s good. Ellie, you go with them, I’ll deal with stuff here, keep me updated please.” Caroline told her. It was clear that Caroline wanted nothing more than to go with them, but she had responsibilities as Miss Mystic Falls.

“I’ll make sure you know everything that’s going on.” Ellie promised. “Ok, Ty let’s book it.” The Lockwood didn’t hesitate. He sped out of the parking lot and headed for the hospital. The ride was silent except for Matt’s pained groans as he tried to keep it together. When they arrived, they rushed in and Ellie quickly told the nurse, “Please, my friend’s hand got crushed under a trailer at the high school he really needs help!”

* * *

Once Matt had finally been released from the hospital. Tyler had taken him home and despite wanting to stay and help, he left at Matt’s request. Ellie however, stayed with Matt. They were sitting on the couch watching Harry Potter. “Well, at least with you needing rest, it gives us an excuse for a Harry Potter marathon.” She joked. He grinned at her. “How’s it feeling?”

“The pain meds are  _ definitely _ doing their job. I can’t feel it at all right now, which is really nice because I don’t want to feel it.” Matt told her. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.” 

She gave him a look like he was crazy. “What are you talking about? Matt you were really lucky that it was  _ just _ your hand. You could have gotten killed or something! I’m not going anywhere.” Ellie told him bluntly. “Now, what are your opinions on Snape?”

If Matt noticed her less than subtle way of changing the subject, he didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he replied, “I never liked the guy. He seems way more obsessed with Harry’s mom rather than in love with her. Plus, Harry’s mom dying doesn’t give him a reason to act like a total jackass to a bunch of kids all the time. I mean he was Neville’s boggart of all things. You have to be more than just your average, run of the mill, shitty teacher to be someone’s literal worst nightmare. Ya know?”

“Agreed.” Ellie told him as she shifted in her spot. “I don’t get why some people excuse his actions but then hate Draco so much. Like Draco literally grew up being taught that way, at least his reasoning makes sense. He was raised to be a jackass and think that he was better than everyone else. Snape literally grew up in the muggle world and still acted like a grade A dickwad.”

“Exactly. He has no excuse. You don’t go and join basically wizard Nazis that want to kill people not like them because the girl you like doesn’t like you back.” Matt said as the first movie ended and Ellie got up to switch the discs to play the second one. “Are you gonna go watch it in theaters when the next one comes out?”

“That’s a joke right? I’m definitely going! If I'm lucky, maybe I’ll go to like the first showing.” Ellie told him. “I just know the movie is going to be so good.” 

“That would be pretty cool.” Matt agreed. They settled back in once Ellie went to the kitchen to make more popcorn and refill their drinks. The movie was still just as magical to watch as it had been the first time. It kept her full attention and she looked for things she might not have noticed before. It was almost more entertaining to watch now that she actually was a witch herself. While the wizarding world still seemed just as magical as ever, she wasn’t sure she’d want to have to deal with a wizard version of Hitler.

“Matt can you pass me a blanket?” She asked as she turned to look at him, only to find him sound asleep. His broken arm was propped up on a pillow on his lap and his head was tilted back at an awkward angle that she was sure would cause his neck to hurt if he stayed that way too long. She put a pillow under his head and then covered him carefully before going to switch out the movies. It wasn’t even a half an hour into the movie before she heard Matt groan. He was shifting in his spot like he couldn’t get comfortable. “Matty?” His face contorted in pain as he groaned again. “Matt?”

“Get it off.” He muttered in his sleep as he winced.

She waited to see if he would settle back down, but it didn’t seem like that was going to happen. He kept shifting in his spot and it sounded like the pain was getting worse. Ellie leaned over to make sure he was asleep before she started to chant under her breath, “ _ Asinta Mulaf Hinta, Sho Bala. Asinta Mulaf Hinta, Sho Bala. Asinta Mulaf Hinta, Sho Bala. _ ” She kept chanting until she watched his breathing slow to a normal rate and his body relaxed.

It was her first time using a pain deduction spell, and to see the way it helped Matt made her feel really good about herself. He settled back into the couch with a peaceful expression. Once he seemed alright, she stopped the spell and walked into the kitchen to find his pain medication. They had placed it next to the coffee pot, and next to the medication was a sheet of paper where they were writing down when he took it and when he could have the next dose. It was almost time for him to take some more, so that explained why he was suddenly hurting. She went ahead and grabbed it with a bottle of water before going back. “Ellie?” Matt called as she entered the room.

“Hey Matty, I’m right here.”

“What time is it?” He asked.

“Late. Is your arm hurting?” She questioned even though she knew the answer. He groaned in response and she gave him a soft smile. “Here, it’s a few minutes early but that’s not gonna hurt anything. Take this and then you can go get in the bed.”

He took the medication gratefully before getting up heading for his room. Luckily for him, he’d changed into comfortable clothes as soon as he’d gotten home. She could see him huffing, trying to not show that he was hurting. Once he was in bed, she grabbed a pillow and placed it under his arm to try and make him a little more comfortable. “Thank you.” Matt told her sincerely.

“I’m glad I could help.” Ellie replied. “I’m gonna sleep in the living room, so just yell if you need me ok.”

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.” 

“I’m staying, Matty. Just yell if you need me.” Ellie repeated. “Get some sleep.” He nodded as she turned off the lights and left the room. After making sure to write down the time he took his meds, she went and got situated on the couch before she too fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I am so so sorry that I didn't update last week. I was in the middle of moving and didn't have internet access and I've just now gotten the chance to post this chapter! I am so sorry for the wait! Please comment and let me know what you guys thought. Also, Happy 4th of July to those that are celebrating it.
> 
> Posted: 7/4/20


	22. Founder's Day

**Chapter 22: Founder’s Day**

_ February 25, 2010 _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ Today’s the day! It’s Founder’s Day. Which means that Matt and Tyler are going to be stuck on the same float for who knows how long. Speaking of Matt, his hand was broken, but it’s healing nicely. Jeremy and Elena seem to be having a fight, but I don’t know what the issue is. When I try to talk to Jeremy, he just brushes me off and tells me that it doesn’t matter and that I couldn’t fix it anyways. When I asked Elena she just kind of gave me a guilty look and told me not to worry about it. Lately it has really felt like I’ve been totally out of the loop. No one seems to be telling me anything and that’s really starting to frustrate me. Sooner or later I’m going to get actual answers. _

Both Ellie and Elena had curled their hair carefully, pinning it up in fancy designs. Their makeup was finished and now it was time for their dresses. It was unsurprising that the dresses were meant to be as authentic as possible, meaning it had  _ layers _ . They both had their undergarments already on and Elena was getting her corset laced. Jenna tugged it to make sure it was quite secure and it was a bit entertaining to see the faces Elena was making. Once Elena was laced up, the top bit of her skirt went on before they added a sash. Elena was adding her necklace before she complained, “Ow, this dress hurts.”

Jenna scoffed at her, “Suck it in, baby.”

“Don’t be a crybaby Elena.” Ellie mocked.

Elena scowled at her. “Just wait until you’re dressed. See how you like it. I don’t understand how people actually wore stuff like this back then. Pretty yes, but uncomfortable.”

“Well, heels are uncomfortable but women wear them all the time. You just get used to it I guess.” Ellie shrugged. Once her corset was tightened, she took a deep breath. “Well, I can still breathe. So it could be worse.” They finished off by adding the last pieces of her dress before she added accessories. “Thanks Jenna.”

“Your welcome. The two of you look stunning.” Jenna praised. “Come on, let me get a picture of the two of you.” The girls went over to the window and posed for Jenna. “Beautiful.”

“Oh, we better get going. I’m sure Mrs. Lockwood is already rounding up people to get on the floats.” Ellie said as she looked up at the clock on the wall.

“Have fun!” Jenna told them. “I’ll be taking pictures of you guys. Hopefully Jeremy gets here soon.”

The twins nodded and left the room. Once they were outside, they started walking towards where everyone was gathered. The majority of the people around were the ones that also had to be on floats or in walking in the parade. “Will you help me look for Stefan?” Elena asked.

“Yeah sure, let me know if you see Tyler.” Ellie said as they started searching. She saw the other cheerleaders and she saw the boys dressed in uniforms for the Battle of Willow Creek float. She could also see Mrs. Lockwood walking around telling people what to do and where they needed to be. Ellie spotted Stefan standing with his brother a few yards away from them. “Elena, there’s Stefan.” She said and her twin immediately turned towards him. Elena curtsied with a grin towards Stefan before Ellie told her, “I’m gonna go look for Tyler.”

“Ok. See you in a bit.” Elena nodded before she walked over to Stefan with a bright smile.

Ellie couldn’t see Tyler anywhere, but she did run into Bonnie, Matt, and Caroline. “Oh you look so good!” Caroline praised as she rushed over and hugged Ellie while making sure she didn’t mess up either of their outfits.

“You look even better!” Ellie replied. “Hey Bon. What are you guys doing?”

“Taking pictures.” Bonnie informed her as Caroline walked back over to Matt. “Say cheese!” Bonnie said as she prepared to take the photo.

“Oh, wait, wait, wait! Hide your cast. It’s not era appropriate.” Caroline said to Matt.

“Seriously?” Matt asked her.

“Yes.” She informed him as Bonnie gave them a look.

“Ok, alright, come here.” He laughed as he adjusted so that his cast would be behind her in the photo. Bonnie and Ellie grinned as the couple laughed.

Once the photo was taken, Caroline excitedly said, “I want one with Bonnie now.”

“Ok.”

“Here, I can take it.” Tyler offered. Ellie hadn’t heard the boy approach, but she smiled brightly at him as he took the camera from Bonnie.

“I’ll be on the float.” Matt told Caroline as he eyed Tyler. 

Tyler scoffed slightly but didn’t say anything to Matt as he walked away. “I said I was sorry.” Tyler told Caroline.

“You made out with his  _ mother _ and then you beat him to a pulp.” Caroline reminded him. “You’re gonna have to do a  _ little _ bit better than sorry.” Tyler didn’t know how to respond, so he didn’t. Instead, he held up the camera and took a picture of Bonnie and Caroline. “Ellie come take a picture with us.” Caroline insisted and Ellie quickly obeyed. She stood on the other side of Bonnie and smiled happily. A picture of just Bonnie and Ellie was taken next, followed by a picture of Tyler and Ellie together.

Mrs. Lockwood found them as they were taking pictures. “Come on and head to your float.” She told them as she glanced at her watch.

“Wait, Mrs. Lockwood, would you come take a picture with us?” Ellie requested. 

It seemed like Mrs. Lockwood hadn’t even realized that they were taking pictures, but she gave Ellie a genuine smile at the offer. “I would love to.” Mrs. Lockwood said truthfully as she handed Bonnie her clipboard and moved to stand next to her son. The three of them took a photo together, before Ellie insisted on getting one of just Tyler and his mom. It was entertaining to watch as he tried to be annoyed by it. After that, Ellie took a picture with Mrs. Lockwood and then Caroline took one with the older woman as well. “Alright, go on now. We can’t be late.”

“We’re going mom.” Tyler agreed as they headed for the float. They stopped so that Ellie could take a picture with Jeremy before moving to get to where they were supposed to be.

Once everyone was in place, the parade began. “Let’s give a big hand to the Miss Mystic Falls High School marching band.” Mrs. Lockwood said and the crowd cheered for them as the band played. “And for a little local history Mr. Saltzman’s students have recreated Virginia’s Battle of Willow Creek.” After a moment, she said, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our stunning Miss Mystic Falls court and their handsome escorts.” The crowd went wild as they approached. “This is Caroline Forbes, Miss Mystic Falls.”

“Oh look, Care, there’s Bonnie.” Ellie told her as she waved to their friend.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” Mrs. Lockwood asked the crowd. The girls all waved to Bonnie who was smiling proudly at them. When Damon seemingly appeared out of nowhere, Ellie couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Her eyes narrowed when she watched Bonnie walk away only to have Damon follow her. “Let’s cheer for the Mystic Falls High School football team. Alright! Let’s show them our support, everybody.” 

Ellie could hear the team doing chants on the float behind them and she grinned at their enthusiasm. “Stefan, why is your brother following Bonnie?” Ellie asked as she turned to face the younger Salvatore.

“What?” Stefan asked in surprise. She watched as he searched the crowd and spotted Damon. With a frown he said, “I’m not sure. I don’t think it’s anything bad though.” He seemed genuine, so Ellie didn’t push.

“After we get off this stupid float do you want to go play pool?” Tyler asked her as he waved to the crowd.

“I might look around for a bit. But yeah, we can definitely play pool later.” Ellie agreed. After what seemed like ages, they were finally allowed off the float. “Ugh thank  _ god _ . Ty, can you help me off this thing?” She asked as she stepped towards the edge.

“Yeah. Here.” Tyler stepped off the float first and held out his hands so she could keep her balance.

“Wait guys! We need to get a picture of all of us together.” Caroline insisted before the group separated. Matt made a face as he shot a look at Tyler, but Caroline didn’t give in. “No, come on. Everyone gather around.” She told them all. They did as told and Elena took the place on the other side of Matt and Tyler ended up on the other side of Caroline. Everyone smiled for the camera and with that Caroline released them.

“I’ll see you in a bit.” Ellie told Tyler as she linked arms with Caroline as they headed back to get out of their dresses. “You look beautiful.” Ellie told the blonde as they walked.

“Thank you. I think I like your dress color a bit better than Elena’s if I’m honest.” Caroline said with a laugh.

The blonde must have remembered something from the way her amused expression turned serious. “Caroline what is it?” Ellie asked worriedly. “Is everything ok?”

“I… Bonnie and I were at The Grill the other day and she told me something. She said that she-” Caroline stopped herself. Ellie wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Caroline so conflicted about telling Ellie something. They tended to tell each other everything.

“Caroline?” She asked. “Whatever she said surely couldn’t have been that bad.” She insisted as she pulled on Caroline’s arm to stop them from walking. “You know you can tell me anything.”

“I don’t know, Ellie. It was so strange. She was so serious about it and I don’t even know if I can say it’s bad bad but like the way she said it made it sound like it was.” Caroline explained vaguely. “Ok, ok so we were at The Grill and she said that she did something bad. She apparently told Elena that she did something but she didn’t actually do the thing. And then for whatever reason she mentioned that her Grams would have never done it. So she couldn’t either.”

Ellie made a face at that. Something that Miss Sheila wouldn’t have done? Could it be something witch related? Why else would Bonnie say that Miss Sheila wouldn’t do it. Elena was aware that Bonnie was a witch. “But Bonnie wouldn’t tell you what exactly it was that she said she did but she didn’t actually do?” Ellie questioned.

“Nope.” Caroline confirmed as she shook her head. “Believe me I tried my best to get her to tell me, but she wouldn’t. Something really seems to be going on with Bonnie and Elena and I can’t figure it out. I have never seen them fight like this.” 

“I haven’t either. Jeremy and Elena are fighting too. Like if she walks into a room he will just straight up leave.” Ellie told the blonde before letting out a huff and pulling Caroline with her. “Honestly you’re right. Everyone is fighting and I don’t like it. Especially when I don’t know how to fix it. Even more so when I don’t even know what’s going on.”

“At least we aren’t fighting.” Caroline reminded her as they made their way into the building and up the stairs to get changed.

“And that is why we are the superior best friends. They wish they were besties like we’re besties.” Ellie grinned. “Here grab your clothes and come to the room where my stuff is so we can help each other get out of the evil dresses. Pretty, but evil.”

“Ok, see you in a second.” Caroline said as she moved to go get her things. While Ellie waited she started taking off her accessories, carefully placing them in the box. She managed to get off her sash and the top of her skirt before Caroline walked back in. “Geez how did you get your corset laced so tight?” Caroline asked in disbelief as she shut and locked the door behind her.

“Jenna is a surprisingly good corset lacer.” Ellie joked. “I’m amazed I can still breathe.”

Grinning, Caroline told her, “That’s just because you’re amazing.”

“Why thank you darling.” Ellie joked as she gave the blonde a dramatic curtsey. “Here, I’ll undo your corset first.” She unbuttoned the coat covering Caroline’s corset before laying it on the chair. After that she got to work undoing the laces. “Yours is laced pretty tight too.” She commented. “Who did yours?”

“Bonnie did. She’s pretty good at it.” Caroline informed her. Once she was free of her corset, the blonde took a deep breath of relief. “Oh my god that felt nice.” She sighed as she moved to slip on her bra and her shirt. When she came back and started on Ellie’s corset, the Gilbert girl snorted at the sight. “What?” Caroline asked.

“A shirt and a half of a Civil War dress. Now  _ that _ is a look.” Ellie laughed. 

Caroline took a look at herself in the mirror and laughed with her friend. “You can hush. I could’ve left you in this death dress to get changed first.”

“Death dress.” Ellie repeated with a grin. “Alright, alright, thank you.” Once Ellie was also freed from her corset, she moved to put on her bra and shirt before they got themselves out of their skirts. “Are you gonna watch the firework show?”

“Definitely. Who doesn’t like fireworks?” Caroline asked as they moved to brush out the curls in their hair.

“That’s a good question.”

* * *

Caroline and Ellie walked through the crowd as they snacked on cotton candy. “What is it about cotton candy that comes from a fair type place? What is it about this cotton candy that makes it so, so delicious?” Ellie asked with fake seriousness. Holding up the cotton candy she said dramatically, “Oh fair cotton candy, fluffy goodness of royal blue, you are so delicious and handy, when you’re all gone what will I do?”

“You’re insane.” Caroline joked as they waited for a large group of people to pass. “Ok, question.”

“Hit me.” Ellie nodded.

“What’s up with you and Tyler?” Caroline asked curiously.

Ellie gave her a look. “What about me and Tyler?”

“Are you like… into him?” Caroline asked casually. “What? Don’t make that face at me. You guys are together like a lot. Is it really so surprising that I’d ask.”

“Tyler’s just my friend, Care.” Ellie assured her. “Plus with him and Matt currently not speaking and Matt kind of hating his guts I’m his only other close friend.”

“Hmm, maybe I misread all the looks then.” Caroline said as she pulled off some more cotton candy.

“There are definitely not any looks, Caroline.” Ellie sighed. “We are just friends. We’re never gonna be anything more than just friends.” Caroline raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “That would be like saying I thought you were into Jeremy.”

“Ew!” Caroline yelped in surprise. “Wait, sorry, that was rude. I mean no offense, but like, ew.” She wrinkled her nose at the thought. “He’s your little brother. That makes him like my little brother. No, just... just no.”

“That’s my reaction about Tyler. I’ve known him for so long he might as well be my brother. Annoying and sometimes I want to strangle him, but he’s like family to me. Same goes for Matt. I could never really see him as anything other than one of my best friends.” Ellie explained.

The blonde turned to really stare at Ellie, like she was trying to figure something out. After a moment, she sighed and her shoulders dropped. “Well then we still have to find you a boyfriend. Mmm, I could see you with an older guy. Oh! Tyler’s super hot uncle! What’s his name?”

“Mason? Do you mean Mason?”

“Yes! Him! He’s like oh my god hot.” Caroline grinned.

Laughing, Ellie confessed, “He is like oh my god hot, but Tyler would actually fight me if I went for Mason.”

“Ok, but I can work with hot and older as something you want in a guy.” Caroline said as she nodded to herself. “Alright, what else? Tall?”

“Tall is always good.” Ellie agreed. “Oh, look it’s Jenna.” Her aunt was looking a bit uncomfortable talking with some man she’d never seen before. “Who’s that guy?”

Caroline spotted the guy Ellie was talking about and frowned. “I don’t know but Jenna doesn’t seem like she wants to be talking to him. He’s giving off like totally creepy vibes.”

“That’s what I thought. Come on, let’s rescue her.” Ellie said as she tossed her empty cotton candy stick away. They made their way to Jenna and flanked her on either side. “Hello my favorite aunt.” Ellie said loudly, effectively cutting off whatever the man was saying.

“Katherine?” The man asked in surprise.

“Huh?” Ellie asked as she turned her attention to him. Now that she was up close with him, he  _ definitely _ gave off a really creepy vibe and it made her skin crawl. “Who’s Katherine?” The man was just staring at her silently. “I’m sorry dude, you’ve definitely got the wrong girl and sorry to cut your conversation short but we need to steal her.”

“Oh, you sure? You two should stick around for the fireworks.” He said as he took a step towards them. 

A million spells pushed forward in her mind in case she needed to protect herself or Jenna or Caroline. Some were harmless and wouldn’t be noticable. Others would most definitely be effective but they would also be obvious. “No, we’ll see it, but we have to go. Bye.” Ellie said as she pulled Jenna away from the man. When they turned to walk away she felt the air shift as he started after them. As subtle as she could, she managed to make a small hole in the ground that caught his foot, causing him to fall forward. While he was preoccupied with getting his foot out, Ellie pushed Jenna and Caroline behind one of the stands so that they were out of his line of sight.

“Ok, he definitely had like major serial killer vibes.” Caroline said as she scrunched her nose in distaste.

Jenna nodded in agreement as they continued on. “We should go get something to eat I guess. Hopefully the fireworks will start soon.” Jenna said as she looked over her shoulder to make sure they weren’t being followed. “Have you girls been having fun?”

Caroline grinned at her. “Definitely yes. We have had enough cotton candy to last us until next century.” She confessed. “Have you been with Mr. Saltzman?”

Ellie watched with amusement as Jenna’s eye shot wide at Caroline’s sly suggestion. It seemed that Jenna wasn’t prepared for the level of digging Caroline was oh so good at. Jenna looked to her niece for help, but Ellie just shrugged. “Caroline is  _ very _ good at getting answers. She’d probably make a very good detective.” Caroline just gave Jenna a sugary sweet smile as she waited for a reply.

“You’re so helpful.” Jenna said as she rolled her eyes at Ellie. The teenagers didn’t miss the way that Jenna was trying not to smile. “But if you must know I was with him earlier. Oh stop grinning like that.”

“I’m gonna be a bridesmaid at the wedding right?” Ellie asked her innocently.

“Ooh, ooh, can I be one too?” Caroline asked excitedly. “Or I could be your wedding planner.” She said thoughtfully.

Ellie nodded in agreement. “You are definitely meticulous enough to be really good at that actually. I’m on board for Caroline being the wedding planner. She could probably get you discounts on the good stuff because she’s scary.”

“I am not scary.” Caroline scoffed.

“You are absolutely scary. When you get in the mood you’re like a mini dictator. You could make grown men tremble if you wanted to.” Ellie said. It was clear that she didn’t doubt that for a second.

Beside her, Jenna was nodding in agreement. “I totally see it. In that case, go ahead and be the wedding planner.” Jenna told her.

“Is there a wedding to plan?” Caroline asked excitedly. “Are you pregnant?”

Ellie laughed loudly in surprise as Jenna’s cheek flushed brightly. It probably didn’t help anything that people turned to look at them with the noise Ellie was making. “No, no. I am most certainly not pregnant.” Jenna said in embarrassment. “Jumping the gun a little bit there, Caroline.”

“It was a very valid question.” Caroline said shamelessly. When they got to the Grill, it wasn’t nearly as packed as they’d feared it might be. They picked a booth and chatted as they waited for food. “So any update on the Elena and Bonnie problem?”

“Nope. Elena really doesn’t tell me anything anymore. What about you Jen?” Ellie asked as she swirled her straw around her drink.

“Same here. I just can’t believe they’re fighting.” Jenna confessed.

The food arrived and once the waiter was gone Caroline groaned. “Honestly, I’m tired of the back and forth and being kept out of the loop. It’s not like they’re gonna tell us anything anyways.” She huffed. “So until they decide to talk to us or to each other I’m just giving up.”

“That’s fair. And it’s not like we’re getting anywhere with Matt and Tyler either.” Ellie said as she got herself some ketchup.

“How bad is it with them?” Jenna asked as she took the ketchup from her niece.

“Bad.”

“Like really bad.” Caroline added. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Matt this mad at someone.”

Jenna looked over at Ellie. “And how’s Tyler dealing with Matt being mad?”

Sighing, Ellie confessed, “Not great. He really knows that he messed up big time, but he’s garbage at apologizing. For them to get back to where they were, something big is gonna need to happen. I don’t know what, but something has to give.” 

Caroline nodded in agreement. “I’ve been trying to get Matt to give Tyler another chance, but it’s like no matter what I do, he just refuses. Most of the time if I try to even talk to Matt about Tyler, he just shuts me down. I don’t think there’s really anything we can do at this point. It’s really up to Tyler.” She bit into her fry frustratedly, “Ok, enough talk about stupid fights with our friends being dumb. Let’s talk about getting you a man, Ellie.”

“Noooooo…” Ellie groaned as she threw a french fry at her friend “Let’s definitely not do that.”

The look Caroline gave her was absolutely wicked. “You definitely need a man. Jenna did you know she likes older guys?”

Jenna’s eyebrow quirked up in surprise. “No, I did not. How much older are we talkin here? Am I going to have to fight creepy old men off?”

“Gross. No.” Ellie assured her.

“Well, she thinks Mason is hot.” Caroline informed the older blonde. 

“So do you.” Ellie shot back. “It is common knowledge that Mason Lockwood is attractive. No one would say that he isn’t.”

“Well, she also pointed out that Tyler would try to fight her if she went for his uncle.”

“That didn’t mean that I wanted to date Mason!” Ellie groaned. “I am not into Mason.”

Jenna looked skeptical at that. “Well, it would be a little odd for you to date someone that I went to school with.”

It was Ellie’s turn to raise her eyebrows in surprise. “Your only issue would be that you went to school with him?” She asked in disbelief. 

“Well, it’s probably not the best idea for you to be going for someone that much older when you’re, you know, a minor. I don’t know honestly. I’ve known some people that had pretty big age gaps between them and their partner and actually had surprisingly healthy relationships. But of course some people had big age gaps and they were anything but healthy.” Jenna told her. “It all depends on the people I suppose.” After a moment, she added, “But do not take that as a pass to date some really creepy pedophilic old guy. I’d hate to get arrested for murder.”

“Pretty sure my mom would let you off the hook for it.” Caroline whispered conspiratorially.

“Dating some creepy pedophile is nowhere near being on my list of things to do so don’t worry.” Ellie grinned. “Really there’s just no one here that I’m into.”

Jenna’s phone started to ring from inside her purse. “Hello?” She asked as she answered it. The two teens watched as Jenna made a face at whoever she was talking to. “Ok, ok, I’ll get home and send it to you again as soon as I can.”

“Who was that?” Ellie asked curiously.

“My thesis advisor from hell. Apparently they did get the last email I sent them with my updated work, so now I have to get home and send it to them immediately.” She groaned. “I’m so gonna miss the fireworks.” Ellie and Caroline both made disappointed faces, but Ellie moved so that Jenna could exit the booth. “It’s fine, whatever, there’s always next year and the fourth of July. I’ll get the bill before I go.”

“Maybe you’ll make it back in time?” Caroline suggested.

“Hopefully, but I doubt it.” Jenna told her. “Enjoy the show for me.”

“Bye.” 

“Bye.” Jenna said as she moved to go pay.

As Ellie watched Jenna leave, she spotted Tyler coming into The Grill. “Oh, I totally forgot I told him I’d play pool with him.”

“It’s ok, Matt’s headed this way anyways, so I can just hang out with him.” Caroline assured her.

Nodding, Ellie finished off the last bites of her burger and slipped out of the booth. “Lockwood, ready to get your ass kicked?” She taunted as she walked over to him.

“Pft, you wish you were as good as me at pool.” Tyler scoffed as they moved to the table. He set up the game as she grabbed the pool sticks. She looked up when she saw him tense only to see him staring at Matt who had just sat down with Caroline. “He’s never gonna forgive me.” Tyler said dejectedly as he looked away.

“You don’t know that.” Ellie protested quietly so that Matt and Caroline couldn’t hear them. “Listen, let’s just play for a bit, get your mind off of it.”

They had already played a few games by the time Ellie heard Caroline talking to Matt. “There was this time freshman year when Bonnie and I were in a fight. And we swore that we would never talk again.”

“Caroline, give it a rest.” Matt said. He sounded so done with it, and Ellie understood what Caroline had meant when she said that the boy would just shut her down.

The young witch spotted Mayor Lockwood walk in and said something to one of the officers that seemed to be standing guard. Why on earth was there an officer keeping guard in The Grill? The officer nodded in the direction of her and Tyler and when he headed their way, she softly got his attention by calling out, “Ty…”

He looked up and saw his father and had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. The young Lockwood took a deep breath as if he was bracing himself. “What are you doing here? I told you to go home.” Mayor Lockwood told him.

“I promised Ellie we’d play pool. So, I decided not to.” Tyler said defiantly.

“If I tell you to do something, you do it.” Mayor Lockwood hissed as he snatched up Tyler’s arm. 

“Get off me.” Tyler snapped as he yanked his arm away.

Caroline reacted before Ellie got the chance. “Mayor, is everything ok?” She walked over and gave him her most charming smile while Ellie just stared in shock. She didn’t think the Mayor would be so reckless as to lose his temper with Tyler in front of so many people like that.

Matt also got up and walked over to where they were standing. It seemed that even if he was mad at Tyler, he didn’t want him getting hurt because of the Mayor’s temper. “Please Tyler, I need you to go home now.” The Mayor said in a much softer voice. “Take your friends with you.”

Ellie shared a suspicious glance with Matt. Something was up. “But why? What’s going on?” Matt asked Mayor Lockwood.

“I can’t explain.” He confessed to the teens. “All of you need to get home. Now.” For once, the Mayor seemed almost worried for the safety of the teens. “Please.”

“Yeah, ok.” Tyler agreed as he moved to put down the pool stick.

“Here. Take my car. It’s out back.” He told his son as he placed the keys into Tyler’s hand. “Come on, Ellie, Caroline, Matt, go with him.” They started to move obediently, but they were very confused as to what was going on. “Come on.” He encouraged them as they grabbed their things from the booth before heading out.

“What the hell is going on?” Ellie asked in confusion as they all climbed into Mayor Lockwood’s car.

“I have no idea.” Tyler admitted as he pulled out of the parking lot. They hadn’t been driving long when Tyler looked around as he asked, “What the hell is that?”

“What’s the matter?” Caroline asked worriedly.

“That noise.” Tyler told them.

“Wait, what noise?” Matt asked him. The three other teens in the car couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary.

Ellie looked back at Matt and Caroline in the back seat with worry as Tyler grabbed as his head and he groaned in pain. “Ty… Tyler!” Ellie asked. She’d never seen him react like this to anything.

“Tyler. Tyler!” Caroline said fearfully as he screamed out in pain.

“Dude, hey!” Matt called as he reached for him from the backseat. Tyler’s hands came off the wheel as he grabbed his head. “Ellie! The wheel!” Matt yelled as the car swerved.

“Tyler!” Ellie and Caroline screamed as Ellie reached for the wheel. As he screamed, his foot must have pushed down on the gas pedal and it was hard to get control of the car. “Oh my god!” Ellie screamed just before they crashed into a wall.

* * *

When the ambulance arrived, Ellie’s head was pounding, but she couldn’t focus on anything other than Tyler’s unconscious body laying on the pavement. She stood next to Caroline who also seemed slightly out of breath. “Hey, are you ok? Your side took the biggest hit?” Matt asked worriedly as he cupped Caroline’s face.

“I’m fine. I’m fine.” She told him. 

“They need to check you out.” Matt insisted.

“No. I’m fine. I’m fine. They’re helping Tyler. Besides, Ellie’s side got hit worse than me.” Caroline told him.

“Alright. What about you Ellie?” Matt asked her. “Are you ok?” 

She nodded slowly as she focused on what the EMTs were doing. “Pulse is steadying.” They opened Tyler’s eye to shine a flashlight in only to move back in surprise. “What the hell?”

“What? What’s wrong?” Matt asked worriedly as he dropped down beside the medics.

“His eyes.” The man said as Ellie stepped closer.

Tyler gasped as he jerked awake. “What happened?”

“Dude. Don’t scare me like that.” Matt said as Ellie smiled softly.

“Hey, she needs some help over here!” A woman called and both Matt and Ellie turned to see Caroline collapsed on the ground. 

“Caroline!” They both called as Matt jumped up to run to his girlfriend. “Guys over here! Caroline, hey! Caroline, hey, wake up, baby, hey. We’re gonna get you help. Wake up, Caroline.” Matt pleaded. Ellie paused as she looked back and forth between Tyler as he moved to sit up and Matt and Caroline as the EMT worked on her.

Her ears were ringing sharply and the more she looked between her friends, the worse it got. She pressed her hand to her temples when her vision started to blur. It was Tyler that noticed something was wrong. “Ellie?” He called and she turned to look at him but it felt like she was on a boat in rough waters and she was struggling to stay standing. “Ellie! Hey!” He yelled but she just shook her head as her legs gave. She could hear the panicked yells of both Matt and Tyler as her eyes rolled back in her head.

She hit the ground violently and despite being able to almost hear the sound of her friends, they sounded too far away to understand. There was no use in fighting it. Once again, everything faded to nothingness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god we've finally reached the end of season one! We're now less than ten chapters away from meeting Elijah. I hope you guys have enjoyed the story this far! Please leave a comment and let me know what you guys are thinking or if you have any questions!
> 
> Posted: 7/11/20


	23. Memory Lane

**Chapter 23: Memory Lane**

_ March 4, 2010 _

With a groan, Ellie slowly pushed herself up in the bed. The aftermath of the car crash had been way worse than anyone had expected. At least it was worse for Ellie. Matt had gotten off the easiest. He wasn’t really hurt at all. Tyler had been knocked out but the worst he got was a headache. Caroline had been in the hospital for a couple of days, but she got out long before Ellie did. Ellie had ended up with a concussion and was banged up enough for them to keep her in the hospital for a few days. 

When they finally released her, it was like everyone was on edge in case something else happened. Bonnie had been especially worried. If Ellie hadn’t known any better, she would have thought that Bonnie was acting guilty. Guilty for what, she couldn’t say. Matt had ended up being the one to break the news to Ellie that Tyler’s dad had died. The news was like a blow to the chest. No one really explained how Tyler’s dad died, just that the man was gone.

The first time she saw Tyler after every and could recall it, she watched as he tried his best not to cry. He gave her apology after apology and in the end they set up camp in her room to binge watch Star Wars. His uncle Mason had made a reappearance as well and was lingering in town.

Today, Jenna had come up with the idea to have a barbecue and she kept bouncing back and forth trying to get stuff ready for the party and trying to make sure that Ellie was ok. Ellie was relaxed on the couch watching tv as Jenna looked over everything that she had. “Did I forget anything?” Jenna asked as she swept.

“No, and if you did I already sent a list to Elena for stuff to get at the store while she’s there.” Ellie said as she shifted to look at her aunt.

Jenna looked up in surprise. “You’re a saint, Ellie.” She praised as she dumped the pan into the garbage. “How are you feeling today?”

“Honestly, fine for the most part. My collarbone is still a bit sore but other than that, I’m pretty much fine.” Ellie said. “It’s not nearly as bad as last time. I just hope Mr. Saltzman is good on the grill. I am starving and a freshly grilled burger sounds like heaven right about now.”

“Agreed. We haven’t had a good barbecue in a while.” Jenna said as she moved to help Ellie stand. “Be careful.”

Ellie rolled her eyes but she couldn’t help the way she smiled fondly at Jenna. “I’m bruised, not an invalid.” She retorted.

“You’re still breakable.”

“I’m breakable even when I’m not banged up, but I adore you for your concern.” Ellie told her. What Jenna didn’t need to know was that Ellie had snuck out to the house where Emily and the other witches were and they had done what they could to help speed up her healing. She was in  _ much  _ better condition than she’d been in when she got out of the hospital. “When is Mr. Saltzman supposed to be here?”

“Sooner rather than later, he just had some errands he had to take care of.” Jenna told her.

The faint sound of a car door caught the teen witch’s attention and Ellie looked over to see if she could see anything. “I think I heard Elena.” She said and on cue the door unlocked and opened to Elena trying to bring in way too many bags at once. “Elena, god you aren’t She Hulk. You’re gonna break something!” Ellie teased as she helped set the bags on the table.

“It’s fine. It’s all good. Um, there’s some more in the car Jenna.” Elena said as she unwrapped the handles from where they’d gotten twisted on her wrists. Jenna headed out to get more groceries as Ellie made sure nothing was going to break. “So how are you?”

“Sick of that question, to be honest.” Ellie replied as she started taking the supplies out of the bags. “I mean, I appreciate everyone being worried, but it’s just bruises at this point and it’s no big deal. Don’t you remember that time when we were playing softball in like eighth grade and Bethany Wilson threw the ball so hard that when it hit me we thought my leg was broken?”

Elena’s eyes went wide at the memory. “Oh my god mom was  _ so _ mad. I thought she was gonna fight Bethany’s mom. That snooty brat looked so smug I swear she did it on purpose. I especially remember Caroline trying to murder her.”

Ellie grinned at the memory of how Caroline had tackled Bethany when they’d been playing football. She’d been certain that the blonde was going to pummel the other girl then and there. Sheriff Forbes had been called in for that. “Well no one can ever say that Care isn’t loyal.” Ellie told her. When Jenna walked in with yet another armful of bags Ellie gave her sister a funny look. “Did you buy the whole store?” She asked curiously. “Is this everything? Surely there’s not more.”

“No. No. This is everything.” Jenna nodded before she moved to rub the red marks on her arms where the bags had been too heavy and cut off her circulation.

“I didn’t buy the whole store.” Elena said with a roll of her eyes. “I just bought what we needed.”

“Mmhmm.” Ellie said skeptically as she looked at all the snacks Elena had bought. “Well I guess no one is going hungry.” Elena glared at her sister, but said nothing else. “Elena, can you reach that big bowl for me?” She asked as she pointed up to a chip bowl on the top shelf. Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem but with her shoulder still sore, it hurt to stretch it too much.

“Yeah.” Elena nodded as she did as she was asked before passing the bowl to Ellie. As Ellie put the extra supplies away, Elena filled bowls and plates with different snacks. “Oh, Jenna, I just wanted to say thanks for letting me invite Caroline. She could use a day of distraction.”

“Oh, she’s not the plus one I’m worried about.” Jenna said as she came to stand between the girls at the counter. “Why is Damon coming?”

Ellie made a face at his name. “Ew. Why  _ is _ Damon coming? It’s not like he's particularly welcome here.” She said sassily.

“Because Alaric is a pity-taker.” Elena informed them.

“Um… when did we get to be on a first name basis with Mr. Saltzman?” Ellie asked curiously as she stole a chip from the bowl. “Are we supposed to be on a first name basis with him?”

Jenna shrugged. “I don’t think he’d mind you being on a first name basis with him. I mean your birth mother is… was his wife. So I guess it’s kind of a special circumstance? You can call him Alaric if you’d like.”

“I’ll think about it.” Ellie told her.

“But come on, Jenna, be nice.” Elena said as she snacked on a grape.

Jenna scoffed at the younger girl. “I’ll be nice when Damon learns to keep his paws off you.”

“Wait, what?” Ellie asked in surprise. “What happened?” Elena looked away from Ellie, refusing to meet her sister’s eyes. “Uh no, you don’t get to do that. What  _ happened _ ?”

“Oh, you know, I found Damon kissing Elena on the front porch on Founder’s Day.” Jenna informed her.

“Elena!” Ellie said in surprise. “Does Stefan know what happened?”

“I… uh.”

“Does Stefan know what happened or not? It’s a yes or no question.” Ellie asked sharply. There were already a multitude of reasons that Ellie didn’t like Damon, but this one was a new level of messed up. Kissing your brother’s girlfriend? Definitely not ok. “Elena if Stefan doesn’t know, I’ll tell him myself.” She warned. She wasn’t super close with Stefan, but she respected him enough to tell him the truth.

“He knows, ok.” Elena sighed. “It’s fine. The situation is already settled.” Ellie shared a look with Jenna. She would have thought that Elena wouldn’t want to be anywhere near Damon if he kissed her without permission. The sudden idea that Elena would let Damon kiss her, that she would cheat on Stefan with his brother, pushed itself forward in her mind. It was an awful thought, and no matter how strange Elena was acting, Ellie hoped to god that her sister wasn’t a cheater.

Not knowing what else to say, Ellie just said, “Jenna is it ok if I invite Bonnie? Since Care is coming, Bonnie might like to as well.”

“Yeah, go ahead.” Jenna told her and Ellie moved to head upstairs to get her phone.

Ellie moved up the stairs carefully before heading to her room. She dialed the familiar number of her friend and waited.  _ “Hello?” _ Bonnie answered.

“Bon! Hey! I was wondering if you wanted to come over. Jenna’s having a barbecue.” Ellie informed her as she fiddled with a ring on her shelf.

_ “She is?” _ Bonnie asked.  _ “When?” _

“Like now I guess. You can come over whenever. Caroline should be here soon.” Ellie told her. From downstairs she could hear the doorbell ringing.

_ “Caroline’s going to be there?” _ Bonnie asked and Ellie could hear a shift in her voice.

“Yeah. Elena invited her. Honestly, I’m surprised that she didn’t invite you as well.” Ellie replied.

There was a pregnant pause.  _ “Um, yeah I don’t think I’ll be able to make it. I’ve got some stuff to do.” _ It sounded like an excuse to Ellie.

“Is everything ok? Did you and Caroline have a fight or something?” She asked curiously. Everyone seemed to be fighting lately.

_ “Huh? Oh, no, no. Everything’s fine.” _ Bonnie denied.  _ “Really, I just have other stuff I have to take care of.” _

“You’re sure?”

_ “Absolutely. Eat a burger for me! I gotta go.” _

“Uh, ok. I’ll talk to you later.” Ellie said. The call ended abruptly and Ellie just stared at the screen in confusion. Was everyone suddenly in like a gang or something? With a shake of her head, she headed back downstairs.

“Is Bonnie coming?” Jenna asked as she wrapped up on setting out snacks.

“She apparently has stuff she’s gotta do.” Ellie shrugged.

“Haha, good news! Found the shot glasses.” Mason said as he strolled into the kitchen, holding up alcohol and the shot glasses victoriously.

“Mason!” Ellie said excitedly.

“And that would be my exit.” Elena said as she walked off with a handful of grapes.

“I’m here ten minutes and already I’m back under the bleachers at the pep rally.” Jenna teased as Mason leaned over to hug her.

“It’s just like old times, huh?” Mason teased as they laughed. “Only I didn’t swipe this bottle from my old man.” He joked. “Oh, Ellie, come here. I haven’t seen you in ages.” He hugged her carefully before giving her a bright smile. “You look great.”

“So do you.” She replied. “I’m really sorry about Mayor Lockwood.” She told him softly.

There was a small look of grief that flashed over his features, but it was gone as quickly as it came. “I’m sorry about what happened to you. Tyler told me. He’s been worried sick about you.” Mason replied as he looked her over. “He feels awful that you got hurt because of him.”

Ellie waved it off. “It could’ve been worse. Besides, it was an accident. I don’t blame him for it.” She said honestly. “He’s already apologized like a thousand times anyways.”

“I’m just glad you’re ok.” Mason told her honestly. She gave him a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand.

It was then that Mr. Saltzman came in from the back door. “Oh, the expensive stuff. I like you already.” He joked with Mason.

“Just happy to be invited.” Mason told him.

“Oh, thank Ric. This was his idea.” Jenna said as she smiled at Alaric.

“Really?”

“Yeah, well, you know, I thought it’d be nice to meet some of Jenna’s old high school friends.” Alaric confessed. “Dig up a little dirt.” He joked.

“Oh, I’ve got dirt. I’ve got dirt.” Mason laughed.

“I have no secrets. Only dirty shame.” Jenna said as she held up her shot glass.

“To dirty shame.” Mason agreed as he and Alaric also held up their shot glasses. Ellie, who was not old enough to drink legally and didn’t have a shot glass, held up her glass of soda and clinked glasses with them. “Cheers.” Mason said brightly.

“Hey.” Damon said as he walked in and Ellie’s smile immediately fell.

It made her feel better to see Jenna have the same reaction. “Damon.”

“We were just doing shots. Let me get you a shot glass, buddy.” Alaric said as he wiped off his hands.

“No. Here. Use mine.” Jenna said as she downed her alcohol and shoved the tiny glass into Damon’s hand before walking out.

“She doesn’t like me very much.” Damon said to Mason as he passed the glass to the other man.

“With good reason.” Ellie scowled. “Sorry Mason, but I can’t stand to be within a five foot radius of this dickhead. So I’m gonna be like anywhere else.”

“Ok.” Mason said. As she walked out she could hear Mason introducing himself. “We haven’t met. Mason Lockwood.”

As she walked out of the kitchen, Caroline walked through the front door. Caroline was positively beaming as soon as she spotted her best friend. “Oh my god! Ellie!” She rushed over and hugged the young witch. They hadn’t seen each other much since the accident. Caroline hugged her with just as much caution as Mason had, but there was something different about the blonde. “How are you? I am so so  _ so _ sorry that I haven’t been by much.”

“I’m ok. I’m just glad you’re ok. You’re the one that needed surgery.” Ellie reminded her. “Are you ok?” She asked after a moment. “Something seems… different about you.”

The color drained from Caroline’s face. She shook her head a split second later and smiled brightly at the other girl. “Huh? No, I’m fine. Just hungry. Do you know when the burgers are going to be ready?”

“I don’t think Mr. Saltzman… Alaric… whatever I’m supposed to call him, I don’t think he’s gotten started yet.” Ellie said. She tried to place the change in her friend. It was like the air around her was different from what it used to be, if that even made any sense. “Really are you sure nothing’s different with you?”

There was no hesitation this time. “I’m sure. Just the same old me.” Caroline assured her.

* * *

After they’d eaten, Caroline and Ellie were sitting in the kitchen while the others were in the living room playing pictionary. “So what have I missed?” Ellie asked as she watched Jenna yell out guesses to what Elena was drawing.

“Nothing much. Tyler and Matt are actually speaking again.” Caroline informed her as she pulled a bowl of chips to her. 

“How is Matt? Last time I saw him, that I really remember, he was worried sick about us.” Ellie asked curiously.

Caroline looked hesitant to answer. “Um… I wouldn’t really know. We kinda broke up.” She admitted softly.

“Broke up?” Ellie nearly yelped in shock. “Wait what? And you didn’t tell me? What happened? Everything was going so good between the two of you.”

“It’s my fault. I was crazy Caroline. I guess I went too far and he just had enough of it.” Caroline said dejectedly. “It is what it is I guess.”

“That’s it? You’re not even going to try and get him back? And you’re not crazy, Caroline.” Ellie questioned.

Caroline shrugged. “What if it’s for the best? Matt doesn’t deserve to be stuck with all my drama. It’s surprising he’s tolerated me for this long.”

“Stop that.” Ellie said sharply. “Stop putting yourself down like that. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it till the day I die. Caroline Forbes you are  _ amazing _ . You are one of the sweetest most wonderful people that I have ever met. And everybody has their drama. I mean look at Elena and Stefan. They’ve been all over the place and I still don’t know what’s going on with them.”

“But Elena’s… well Elena. Everyone loves her. I don’t know. I just…”

“You guys gonna come play or what?” Jenna called from the living room.

Caroline put on a fake smile and nodded. “Of course. We’re coming.” She didn’t wait for Ellie. The blonde moved quickly to sit on the couch and Ellie just sighed at Caroline’s avoidance of the topic. Ellie ended up sitting carefully on the arm of the chair where Mason sat. She watched silently as they played. It was odd that the drawings from Alaric and Damon typically ended up being things that Mason guessed correctly.

It was Damon’s turn to draw and Ellie couldn’t help the slight scowl on her face at being forced into such close quarters with the older Salvatore. Elena had gotten up a moment ago to go and get the pie that Damon had brought over. “Dress! Ballerina! Ballet!” Jenna was yelling excitedly. She’d probably had one too many drinks if she was enjoying Damon’s company.

“Puppy! Puppy!” Caroline was also yelling. Damon had drawn what looked like a dog in a tutu with an arrow to show spinning and some music notes. She wasn’t quite sure where he was trying to go with it. Maybe he was just stupid. “Puppy with a tutu.”

“No. No.” Damon said as he made wild gestures to the picture.

“Dog. Hound dog.” Jenna was guessing. “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog!”

“Dances with wolves.” Mason answered casually. Everyone on the couch turned to look at him. It was honestly a touch odd to see Caroline, Alaric, and Jenna so in sync like that. Ellie too turned to look at him curiously and he just shrugged.

“Mason wins… again.” Damon said as Mason gave Alaric a look. What was that even about?

“How is that a wolf?” Jenna complained as Damon headed towards the kitchen.

Ellie rolled her eyes. “I guess he’s just a shitty drawer.” She sassed. The corner of Mason’s lips quirked up in a smirk. As Caroline moved to have her turn drawing, Ellie leaned down to Mason’s level. “In case you couldn’t tell. I really hate him.”

“Yeah, I think I’m picking up on that.” He joked back. She shifted so that she was sitting comfortably again as Alaric and Jenna spouted off guesses to what Caroline was drawing. Her focus was pulled away from the game to see Damon standing far too close to Elena.

Jenna must have guessed Caroline’s drawing successfully if her excited cheer was anything to go by. “Oh, Ellie come on, let’s go get the pie. Elena is taking too long.” Jenna said as she tugged on Ellie’s sleeve. Ellie smiled warmly at her and complied with her tipsy aunt’s request. As they walked over to where Elena and Damon were, Ellie couldn’t help but glare at the non-existent distance between the stupid troll and her sister. “There you are.” Jenna said. “Isn’t this fun?”

“Yes. Thank you so much for inviting me.” Damon told her.

“Did I have a choice?” Jenna asked him.

“No. I don’t think you did.” Ellie chimed in.

“I know what you must think about me and I-.” Damon started.

“No.” Jenna cut him off. “You don’t. You have never dated you. I have dated many you’s.” It was almost fascinating to see how quickly Jenna had gone from giggly and tipsy to serious.

“Well, I’m a work in progress.” Damon said.

“God if this is you with progress then you really must have crawled straight out of hell. A demon perhaps? Demon… Damon… coincidence? Probably not.” Ellie snarked.

He elected to ignore her comments as Elena passed Jenna the pie server. “Ooh, these are fancy.”

“Thanks. My mother’s silver set.” Jenna said without looking at him as Ellie moved to get the plates. “Hey guys, come on. Let’s eat pie.” Jenna called once everything was ready. Alaric moved and sat at one head of the table and Mason moved to sit in the middle of the bench.

“Mason. Why don’t you start us off?” Damon suggested as he placed the pie in front of the Lockwood. He smiled at Mason but if you asked Ellie he was verging on creepy.

After a moment, Mason replied, “Sure.” Ellie watched as he turned the pie so that the handle of the server was away from him before he stuck his hand straight in and scooped out a piece. He looked over and saw the stare Alaric was giving the pie before laughing a bit awkwardly. “What am I? I apologize. I’m an animal.”

Ellie tried hard to not laugh in the momentary awkward silence. “So, Mason, you and Jenna never dated?” Alaric questioned.

Mason looked up at the blonde in mention before shaking his head. “She was always lost in Logan Fell land.”

“Oh, my first mistake.” Jenna sighed.

“Let’s admit it, he was probably your worst too.” Ellie commented as she used the server to get her own piece of pie.

“You’re probably right.” Jenna agreed. “Mason was a catch. He had girls lining up.” She said fondly.

“Really?” Damon asked in surprise. “Huh. I always pegged you for a lone wolf.” Ellie rolled her eyes at him. He definitely hadn’t known Mason long enough to make any kind of accurate observation, but he always seemed to feel the need to put his two cents in. She hadn’t forgotten his stupid comments about Elena not being a cheerleader type.

There was an odd tension between the two of them as Mason replied, “Oh, I’m sure I wasn’t half the lady killer you were.” It wouldn’t surprise Ellie if Mason didn’t like Damon, because Damon is a massive asshole, but the tension seemed to be a bit thick for them to have just met. “How about a toast?” Mason suggested as he held up his beer bottle. “To new friends.” The other legal drinkers in the room held up their beer bottles as Ellie held up her glass of water to clink. “Cheers!” Mason said as everyone repeated it back.

Ellie looked back to see Caroline and Elena still putting away the pictionary supplies. She moved over to them and asked, “Are you guys gonna come get some pie?”

Elena looked hesitant. “I don’t think so.” She chewed on her lip before turning to Caroline. “Would I be the worst friend in the world if I abandoned you and went to Stefan’s?”

“You want to leave?” Caroline asked in surprise.

“It’s just that he hasn’t gotten back to me.” Elena confessed as Ellie looked between the two girls in confusion. “And I’m starting to get this bad feeling.”

“Bad feeling about what?” Ellie asked curiously. “He might just be busy.”

Elena seemed to almost completely ignore her sister’s statement. Ellie quite honestly took offense to being ignored. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Elena.” Caroline told her.

“Damon’s got it under control here.” Elena added.

“Got  _ what  _ under control?” Ellie asked.

“Nothing.” Elena replied.

“Take it from me, there’s nothing worse than a clingy girlfriend.” Caroline offered and Ellie winced at the reminder of the breakup that had upset Caroline the way it had.

“I’m not being clingy. I’m just concerned.” Elena corrected the blonde. “You understand, right?”

“I don’t because I don’t know what’s going on.” Ellie said frustratedly.

Elena moved towards the door when Caroline offered, “How about I drive you?”

“Yeah, ok. That’d be great, thanks.”

Ellie groaned. She was very quickly losing her patience. “Elena, seriously, what is going on? Why would you be concerned about Stefan? Talk to me.”

Elena paused for a split second to look at her twin. “It’s nothing really. It’s probably just a stupid bad feeling and me being paranoid. But I want to go check on Stefan. Just stay here and have fun. We’ll be back later.”

It was clear that Ellie had just been dismissed and disregarded and it made her more than a little annoyed. With her mood being as sour as it had become, she headed upstairs as opposed to rejoining the adults laughing at the table.

* * *

She finally made her reappearance as Mason and hopefully Damon were preparing to leave. From the time Elena and Caroline had left, the teen witch had studied the grimoires in her possession to cool down. As she made her way down the stairs, Mason was saying, “No takers for more drinks at The Grill?” When Jenna and Alaric didn’t respond, he added, “It’s like I’m with a bunch of adults here.”

“I prefer the term ‘Role Model’.” Jenna corrected him.

“And she’s absolutely killing it.” Ellie added with a grin.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Ok. Well, thanks for having me. It was awesome.” Mason said truthfully as he moved to pull Jenna into a tight embrace. “Alaric, catch that game next week?” He asked as he moved to shake the other man’s hand.

“Yeah, looking forward to it.” Alaric replied.

“Ellie you should come and hang out with me and Tyler.” Mason offered as he moved to hug her. “I feel like I haven’t had enough time to hang out with the two of you.”

She smiled brightly as she hugged him back. “Oh, be careful what you wish for. You’ll end up sick of me.”

“Not possible.”

“Hey, you know, I should probably head out, too.” Damon said. Mason nodded before turning and walking out of the house. “Jenna, you are a wonderful hostess.” He praised her as he raised her hand to kiss it.

Ellie’s nose scrunched in disgust. “And  _ you _ are a terrible artist.” Jenna replied before snatching her hand from his.

“Is that the only thing that makes me terrible?” Damon asked curiously.

Jenna almost smiled before she informed him, “Still deciding.”

“Good enough for me.” Damon agreed.

“Don’t worry, I still can’t stand you.” Ellie snarked as she gave him a dark look.

Her hatred didn’t seem to faze him in the slightest. Instead he headed for the door before turning back to say, “Alaric, let’s  _ not  _ catch that game next week.” Ellie rolled her eyes at the now closed door. She really couldn’t stand Damon. 

Not long after they were gone, Caroline called. “Hello?” Ellie asked.

_ “Can you do me a favor?” _ Caroline questioned.

“Why? Just so you guys can continue to ignore me?” Ellie shot back in frustration. She was still very annoyed with Elena’s dismissal.

_ “Ellie… please?” _ Caroline’s voice was soft. It honestly just sounded like she was defeated. It was a total flip compared to how she was earlier.

“What happened?” Ellie asked seriously.

_ “Can you please just come pick me up? I got a flat taking Elena to Stefan’s and she decided to walk the rest of the way.” _

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” Ellie said softly as she grabbed her keys. She called out to tell Jenna she was leaving before going to her car. “Where are you at?” She listened as the blonde described her location and she made it to the blonde as the tow truck person was loading up her car. “What happened?”

Caroline was anxiously picking at her nails as she responded, “I told you. I got a flat and Elena walked to Stefan’s.”

“No. Something’s wrong. Did something happen with you and Elena?” Ellie asked her.

There must have been something in Ellie’s tone that made it clear that she wasn’t going to drop the subject. So with a heavy sigh, Caroline admitted, “I said some stuff to Elena that upset her. I know I shouldn’t have said it. Really, I was projecting my issues with Matt onto her relationship with Stefan. But now she’s mad at me and I feel like crap.”

It seemed like everyone was having issues with Elena lately, but Ellie wasn’t going to say that out loud. Instead, she offered up, “How about we go to The Grill and get some ice cream?”

“Yeah?” Caroline asked. “That would be nice.” Honestly, it wouldn’t be fair to take out her anger on Caroline. Especially since Elena had been the one to dismiss her instead of talking to her. They arrived at The Grill quickly and after Caroline ordered herself a burger and fries the blonde headed to the bathroom. A moment before Caroline came back, Ellie did a double take. She could have sworn she just saw Elena come out of the bathroom. “What is it?”

Ellie hesitated on what to say. “I must be seeing things.” Ellie commented. “I thought I saw Elena, but she’s with Stefan.” Caroline looked kind of nervous, but Ellie brushed it off as Caroline being nervous about seeing Elena. “Anyways, eat your food before it gets cold.” Caroline did as she was told and the conversation drifted to easier topics, like the tv shows Caroline was getting caught up on. But Ellie sat up straighter when she saw Stefan and Elena walk in. “Caroline.” Ellie said softly.

The blonde looked up as they were passing them. Her expression immediately shifted to one of guilt. “Elena…” She called.

Elena whipped around and Ellie could see that her twin was very frustrated. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Caroline replied. Stefan started to say something, but thought better of it. He touched Elena’s shoulder before walking off to a table. Elena looked like she was trying to fight off a headache as she rubbed her forehead. “Oh my god, I am  _ so  _ sorry about earlier today. I don’t… I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s ok, Caroline.” Elena said tiredly. “Everything that you were saying was right. It’s just hard for me to hear, you know?”

“So you’re not mad at me?” Caroline questioned. It was clear that Caroline didn’t believe it.

“You were just being a good friend.” Elena said with a shrug. “In your own way.”

Caroline scoffed. “My own head-case, horrible way.” Caroline corrected. Elena smiled before turning to walk away. Calling her back, Caroline said, “Elena, I  _ really _ am sorry.” The two girls in the booth watched as Elena went and sat with Stefan. It looked like the pair was having a heated conversation. Whatever Stefan said, it caused Elena’s jaw to drop. She got up and walked away a moment later and Ellie watched as Stefan buried his face in his hands.

“Care, I’ll be back.” Ellie said before she went to Stefan. He looked more upset than she’d ever seen him. “Stefan?” She asked softly as she reached out to touch his shoulder. He looked up at her and she felt sympathy swell up in her. “Is everything ok?”

He gave her a sad smile before standing up. “It’s nothing. I think I’m just gonna head home.” She watched as he walked away and she couldn’t help but feel useless. It was becoming more and more obvious that something was going on, she just didn’t know what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have officially entered Season Two!! We're only a few chapters away from Katherine and Elijah making their first appearances. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a comment and let me know what you guys thought or if you have any questions.
> 
> Posted: 7/18/20


	24. Kill or Be Killed

**Chapter 24: Kill or Be Killed**

_ March 5, 2010 _

“Jenna! Come on! Do you have the paint and brushes we were supposed to bring?” Ellie called as she lifted up a box of supplies to take to the car.

Her aunt was making her way down the steps carefully. With the very large and heavy looking box in her hands, it would be very bad if she missed a step and fell down the stairs. “Yes, yes. I have that and everything else we were supposed to bring. Can you get the door?”

Ellie shifted so that she could pull the door open. “Here, let me put this in the trunk and then I’ll help you.” She said as Jenna stopped on the porch. Once she placed her box inside the car, she helped Jenna. She’d also been right. The box Jenna was carrying was insanely heavy. “Do you think that box is going to break?”

“It should be fine.” Jenna assured her. “Can you tell me again why we’re bringing all this stuff?”

Laughing, Ellie reminded her, “Because we promised Mrs. Lockwood. Besides, isn’t Alaric going to be there?” Ellie asked suggestively.

Jenna blushed at the mention and Ellie grinned as her aunt tried to fight her own smile. “Maybe.” Jenna said after a moment. “Ok, that’s a good enough reason to go.”

Sniffing dramatically, Ellie said, “Ah, the beginnings of such young love. It’s a very special thing.”

“I’m going to give you so much grief when you get with someone. Just to get you back for this.” Jenna warned. “Here, go lock the door.” Ellie did as she was told before she slid into the passenger’s seat. “There’s going to be food right? I don’t want to be doing this for hours and there’s no food.”

Ellie gave her a funny look. “Your inner stoner is showing.” She observed. Jenna just rolled her eyes before she pulled out onto the road. “Also, have you seen Elena? I think me and Caroline witnessed Elena having a bad fight with Stefan.”

“What?” Jenna didn’t seem like she’d seen that one coming. “No, if I see her I’ll try and talk to her.” Switching topics, Jenna told her. “You should have seen what happened on campus the other day. Apparently this senior had been dating a sophomore but was hooking up with a freshman on the side. I have never seen a college fight get that ugly that fast.”

Shocked, Ellie asked, “Wait so how did they find out?”

“Apparently the sophomore’s class had moved rooms for the day and ended up next to a class the freshman was in. The dude was picking up the freshman and his girlfriend saw. All hell broke loose. Like I thought that they were gonna kill each other.”

“See, this is part of the reason why I don’t date. Men suck.” Ellie said with a shake of her head.

Jenna went to protest it, but then she shrugged and nodded instead. “You’re not wrong.” As they pulled up to park, they were both surprised to see how many people had already turned up to help out. “There’s way more people here than I expected there to be.” Jenna confessed as they moved to get out of the car.

“Hey you guys.” Mason greeted brightly as he snatched the box out of Ellie’s hands. “You don’t need to push it with lifting stuff Ellie. Last thing you want is to be hurt longer.” She wanted to protest, to complain that it didn’t really weigh anything. In truth the box she held really was just paint brushes and cups and plates, but she just let him take it instead. “Here, Jenna, hand me a few boxes.”

“You’ve been working out, haven’t you?” Jenna asked teasingly as she helped him stack boxes into his arms.

He laughed easily as he adjusted his hold. There was no way neither Jenna nor Ellie could have held up that much stuff. “I gotta keep my arm wrestling competition on the ropes.” He joked. The last box in the car that wasn’t being held by Jenna or Mason was an open box filled with paper towels. “Here, Ellie, you grab that box. That shouldn’t be too heavy for you.”

She picked up the box as she gave him a look. “‘Shouldn’t be’? I take offense to that.” She huffed as she bumped him with her uninjured shoulder. “Is Tyler here?”

It was Mason’s turn to give her a look. “You and I both know he’d rather throw himself off a cliff than do stuff like this. He’s probably at The Grill.”

“Yeah, I really shouldn’t be surprised.” Ellie agreed. Once she dropped off the supplies she was carrying, she found herself getting pulled over to the food station. “Hi Sheriff.” Ellie said brightly as she started mixing up some lemonade.

“Hi Ellie, I’m glad you could make it.” The Sheriff replied.

Grinning, Ellie reminded her, “Well, we both know Caroline would kill me if I didn’t show up when I promised her I would.” There was a subtle shift in the older woman’s expression that caught Ellie’s attention. “Is everything alright?”

It was clear that the older woman realized she’d been caught. With a sigh, she confessed, “Nothing really, she was just in a mood I guess.” The Sheriff turned and despite trying to keep it under her breath, Ellie caught her saying, “Just my horrible parenting skills.”

“You’re not a bad parent.” Ellie said, a bit sharper than she’d intended to. Sheriff Forbes looked up in surprise and Ellie pushed on. “Really, you’re not. I know Caroline can get in her moods sometimes, but you know how much she loves you right?” The older woman looked unsure. “Can I be really honest with you?”

“Of course you can.” Sheriff Forbes replied as she set down the stack of cups she’d been holding.

“I know how much you love Caroline and I know how much she loves you, but I think you guys just need to talk. Like really talk. She can be really insecure sometimes, not just with you. I don’t know how to help, but I really hope you guys can work it out.” Ellie told her. “I know it might not be my place to say anything, but I just want her to be happy.”

Sheriff Forbes smiled at Ellie. “I know I haven’t been the perfect mother to her, Ellie. You don’t have to spare my feelings on that. But I’m very glad that she has a friend like you.”

“I’m very glad to have a friend like her.” Ellie replied. There was a sharp call for the Sheriff and Ellie laughed lightly. “I guess that’s your cue. See you later!” It was a bit odd that she’d gone so long without seeing Caroline or Elena. Did they even show up? It wouldn’t be like Caroline to plan to do something and then just totally bail without even giving her a heads up. 

“Ellie! Hey!” Matt called out as he moved over to her. “When did you get here?” He asked as he took a glass of lemonade.

“I’ve been here for a while. I haven’t seen anyone else though.” She admitted. “Have you been hard at work?” She couldn’t help but laugh as she took a napkin to wipe away the paint smeared on his cheek.

When he realized what she’d wiped off, he laughed in embarrassment. “Wow, I have no idea how long this has been there.” He said as he took the napkin from her to try and get the rest off.

Mrs. Lockwood’s voice suddenly cut through the background noise of everyone working as she announced, “This is all a part of the historical society’s continuing efforts to give back to the community. Thanks to the generous donation of the Fell Family, we are now standing on the sight of our newest public park. Thank you to everyone who has shown up today to lend a helping hand. Thanks.” 

“As much as I enjoy being in the shade and all, I feel kind of useless.” Ellie said with a small huff. “I think if Mason caught me trying to do anything that could even possibly hurt my shoulder again that he’d fight me.”

“Well, I think painting for a bit should be ok. If he spots you, I’ll give you cover and you can run.” Matt joked. She took the offer gratefully and moved to follow him. She couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if she were to tell him the secret of her being a witch. She had considered the reaction of Elena of course, and Bonnie. Ellie had even considered Caroline’s reaction, because there was no way she could tell Elena and Bonnie and not tell Caroline. But how many people would it be safe to tell? Miss Sheila never told her when she could tell them, or who exactly she could trust the information with.

For whatever reason, telling Matt had never crossed her mind until now. Matt had been the only constant since everything had begun to shift. Despite everything, he remained the same as he’d always been. Maybe Emily could offer some advice now that Miss Sheila was gone. As she took a paint brush and began painting down low on a support beam, she looked up at Matt where he worked on a ladder. It almost didn’t seem right to tell him. He was too normal to be brought into a world of witches. A revelation as big as her could potentially turn his world upside down. It didn’t seem right to do that to him.

* * *

She managed to work a good while without getting spotted by Mason or Jenna, though she had hidden herself behind Matt when Mason had been talking with the Sheriff at the food stand. “Mason alert.” Matt warned her and she looked up to see him walking away from Damon. She bent down as low as she could and watched as Mason walked by her hiding spot without noticing him. “You’re good.” Matt said after a moment.

“Thanks.” She said gratefully as she moved to pick her brush up again. “This is nice.”

“What is?” He asked her.

She gestured around them with her brush. “This. Us hanging out. It feels like we haven’t really done it in a while.” She told him.

“I’ve been picking up a lot of extra shifts at The Grill lately, so if it makes you feel any better I haven’t spent a lot of time with anyone.” Matt said as he opened up another can of paint. “But yeah, I’ve missed you too.” She smiled fondly at him and he returned it as he offered, “Maybe we can have a movie night sometime this week. We can watch Star Wars.”

Ellie grinned at the thought. A movie night was exactly what they needed. “That sounds perfect.” She agreed. “You know what would be even better?”

“Hmm?”

“If we watched Twilight instead.” Ellie told him with a wicked grin. At his disgusted expression, she added, “Come  _ on _ , you haven’t even seen New Moon yet. Jacob got way hotter in this one.”

With a scoff, Matt replied, “Oh yes that is most  _ definitely _ a reason for me to go watch it.” His voice was absolutely dripping with sarcasm. “I’ll watch it with you when hell freezes over.”

She pouted at him before sighing overdramatically. “I see, you hate me.” Ellie huffed. He threw a napkin at her in response. “See! This is an act of hate!” Her fake pouting was distracted at the pained sound of choking. She looked up sharply to see Damon Salvatore bent over and gasping for breath as Stefan worriedly tried to help. She watched as Stefan helped his older brother to sit at one of the picnic tables as he tried to breathe. “Is he dying or something?” She asked as she stood up to get a better look. He had moved to get a bottle of water, taking a drink before spitting it out over the edge into the bushes.

“I have no clue.” Matt told her. He went back to painting as Ellie continued to watch. Surprisingly, it looked like Damon was really angry. He tried to leave only to be stopped by Stefan and with a brief struggle, Stefan managed to force him to sit. The younger Salvatore managed to say that made Damon stop fighting as he looked up in surprise. Damon stood with purpose before heading off with Stefan following a moment later.

“Weird.” She muttered under her breath. After a bit longer, she saw Mason emerge from the woods and she couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t look ok. “Hey, I’ll be back.”

“Ok.” Matt said as she stood and headed for Mason.

He was in the parking lot by the time she reached him. “Hey, Mason!” He whipped around, faster than she thought he would’ve. She couldn’t tell if he looked panicked or guilty, but his expression was somewhere in that range. “Is everything ok?” Ellie asked as she grabbed his arm.

She thought he might’ve flinched, but his face turned neutral far too fast for her to be sure. “Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine.” He assured her, but his look of disbelief must have been too obvious. After her sharp look, he caved and confessed, “I nearly dropped something heavy in the woods. Kinda got hit with a heavy branch to the gut.”

“Are you ok?” She asked worriedly.

He gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m fine, really. I’ll probably go home and take some aspirin. It’ll be fine.” There was something about him that practically radiated guilt. What he had to feel guilty for, she had absolutely no clue. “Stop worrying so much, really, it’s nothing major.”

“Are you sure?” Ellie pressed. “Do you need to get it checked out or something?”

“Ellie, I promise. It’s fine. If I feel worse in the morning I’ll go get it checked out, but I know I won’t need to.” Mason replied. “You look a bit worn out. Do you want a lift home?”

While she hadn’t mentioned it before, her shoulder had started to ache at all the movement she’d been doing while she painted. “That would be nice, thanks. I just need to send a text to Jenna to let her know.” Ellie said as she pulled out her phone and sent a text to both Jenna and to Matt to let them know. With that done, she climbed into the passenger seat of Mason’s car and tried to not wince when she moved her shoulder too much. A visit to Emily and the other’s would definitely be necessary.

“So, I see Elena has a new boyfriend, what happened to her and Matt?” Mason asked. Ellie’s eyebrow quirked up in surprise. She had expected small talk on the ride home, but she definitely didn’t expect that to be the topic he picked.

“Uh, they broke up after mom and dad died. Really she’d wanted to break up with him before that, but she didn’t want to hurt him.” Ellie admitted.

Mason nodded before asking, “And she’s got a new boyfriend now.”

“Yeah, Stefan Salvatore. He’s new. He moved here around the beginning of the school year.” Ellie supplied.

“At the barbecue, you mentioned you pretty much hate Damon Salvatore, that’s his older brother I’m guessing.” Mason said.

“Mmhmm, he is. And yes, I do.”

“So what do you think about Stefan then?” Mason inquired.

She tried to not let her confusion be so obvious. Why on earth did he even care? After a moment of hesitation she finally said, “Stefan’s nice. I mean, I haven’t exactly spent a whole lot of time with him, but he’s a pretty cool guy. He’s a million times better than his brother though.” She watched as Mason drummed a pattern on the steering wheel as he drove. “Why do you ask?” It was bothering her too much to not ask. In all the years she’d known him, he had never cared in the slightest what any of her and Tyler’s friends did. He especially didn’t care who they were dating.

The drumming stopped the moment she asked, and if she didn’t know any better she’d say that he was nervous. “No reason, the two of them are just new, and Mystic Falls doesn’t really get new people all that often.” Mason replied. She supposed that it was a fair statement, given that she really couldn’t remember someone new moving here before Stefan and Damon did. Well, did Anna count? The thought of Anna also made her wonder where the other girl had been. She hadn’t been by the house in a while.

However, Ellie couldn’t shake the feeling that Mason was lying to her. It wouldn’t make sense though, he had no reason to lie to her. The rest of the ride home went by quickly with Ellie lost in her thoughts. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t being honest. She also couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing something very important. By the time Mason pulled into the driveway, Ellie had decided that she most definitely needed to go to get answers from Emily. “Thanks for the ride, Mason.” She told him sincerely.

“Anytime.” He replied. She quickly made her way into the house and could hear the sound of his car fading as she locked the door. Ellie walked quietly through the house as she checked to make sure that no one else was home. Once she was sure she hadn’t been seen, she slipped out of the house and got to her car and took the familiar route to Emily.

As she walked into the familiar room the candles shot to life. “Hello, it has been a while.” Emily greeted as Ellie dropped down onto the floor with a groan.

“Yeah, Jenna’s been kinda hovering lately. Not much of a chance to come over here.” Ellie confessed.

“Your shoulder is causing you pain.” Emily said matter of factly. “Let us help you.” Before Ellie could have even thought to respond, she felt the familiar energy surround her as the pain let up. She sighed in relief and waited as they worked. “Better?”

“Much.” Ellie confirmed. She was silent for a moment before speaking up again. “Emily, can I ask you something?” Once Emily agreed, Ellie said, “Before Miss Sheila passed away, she told me that I needed to wait before I told anyone anything about me being a witch. How do I know who to tell?”

The rest of the witches seemed to be talking amongst themselves at her question. She could faintly hear them, but no one was loud enough for her to understand. “Revealing your secret to anyone can be dangerous, and it is best to try and limit the amount of people who know. It is especially important to limit the number of people that know when they are not already involved in the supernatural world. Some people do not handle it well when they find out a secret like yours.” Emily advised.

It made sense. If the witch hunts from history were any indication, people didn’t always react well to the knowledge that magic was real. “Would telling Bonnie and Elena be ok?” She asked curiously. “Bonnie already told Elena that she’s a witch and Elena seems to have handled it pretty well.”

“If you trust them with your secret, then that decision is yours to make. I do believe that you have enough control and knowledge of your powers for you to not be at risk of accidentally hurting them.” Emily informed her.

“I feel like they’re going to be upset that I’ve kept it a secret for so long.” Ellie confessed.

“You were only trying to protect them. If they do not understand that, it is not your fault.” Emily replied. “There is something else bothering you.”

Between the relief of her shoulder no longer hurting and asking about revealing her secret, she’d completely forgotten the feeling she’d gotten when she was with Mason. “I don’t know. I just feel like there’s something going on and I don’t know about it. Really, I’ve been feeling that way for a while but every now and again someone will say something or do something out of the ordinary and really sets off the warning bells in my head.” She said truthfully.

“I’m sure all will be revealed in time.” Emily offered. That was an incredibly vague response. “No matter what happens, I believe that you have learned enough to be prepared.” Prepared for what? The question was on the tip of Ellie’s tongue, but she was sure that if she asked, Emily would give her a frustratingly vague response to that as well.

But at the same time, it almost felt like a confirmation that something was in fact going on that Ellie didn’t know about. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” Ellie said, but she had been left feeling clueless way longer than she was alright with. It was time for her to do some digging. She was going to find out the truth one way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think of this chapter! Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! I hope you guys enjoyed it!
> 
> Posted: 7/25/20


	25. Plan B

**Chapter 25: Plan B**

_ March 8, 2010 _

Ellie had most certainly  _ not _ slept well. Her dreams were filled with secrets and lies and being burned at the stake. While she didn’t think that telling Elena or Bonnie or Caroline the truth about her being witch would end in literal flames, something in her gut was trying to warn her that something was wrong. And no matter how hard she tried to figure out what her instincts were trying to tell her, she was coming up with nothing.

She could have also sworn that she’d heard Stefan in Elena’s room with her this morning, but when she knocked on the door, it was Elena by herself. Maybe she’d been on the phone with him or something. Shortly after she arrived at the Lockwood property with Elena and Jenna, she got a call from Caroline. “Hello?”

_ “Hey, Ellie. Are you going to help with the masquerade set up today at the Lockwood’s?” _ Caroline questioned.

“Yeah, Care. You know that. You were the one that made me promise I’d help out.” Ellie reminded her as she stepped out of the way of someone carrying a tall box of lights to hang up. “Are you on your way yet?”

_ “Uh, about that…” _ Caroline started and Ellie could hear the regret in her tone.  _ “I… um… I’m not going to be able to make it.” _ She confessed.

“What?” Ellie asked as she stopped walking. “What do you mean you’re not coming? You’ve been talking about how excited you were to help set up this party for  _ weeks _ . Like literally weeks.”

Caroline sighed loudly before replying,  _ “Yeah, yeah, I know. I really want to be there, I do. I’m just not going to be able to make it.” _

“But why?” Ellie asked. There was no way she was going to let Caroline bail on this when she’d been so excited for it without getting at least some type of explanation.

_ “Something came up that I have to take care of.” _ Caroline told her.

When she offered no more of an explanation that than, Ellie shot back, “Nope, not good enough. What came up that was so important that you’re bailing. You’re not the type to back out on your word on a whim.” She was tired of not getting any answers from everyone. So now, it was time to push until she got answers. “Care, I’m serious.”

_ “Ok, my mom isn’t feeling good.” _ Caroline finally admitted.  _ “And I know I can be a sucky daughter sometimes but I wanted to stay home with her and make sure she has everything she needs. I know she can take care of herself, but I don’t remember the last time she got sick and I wanted to do something nice for her for once. Especially since I’ve been kind of awful lately.” _ She spoke quickly, almost as if she thought her reasoning wouldn’t be good enough for Ellie.

“Oh.” Ellie said after a moment of surprise. “Caroline, that was literally all you had to say. Taking care of your mom is definitely a good enough reason to miss the set up. Is there anything I can do? I can make her some soup and bring it over later if you’d like. Homemade soup is always better than the crap that comes out of a can.”

Her friend laughed softly at the offer.  _ “I’ll let you know. She’s been sleeping it off for the most part. I’m really sorry that I can’t come help though.” _

“Don’t be.” Ellie assured her. “While I’m sure it would have ended up looking even more spectacular with your influence, I’m pretty sure Mrs. Lockwood can manage all on her own.” They both laughed at that. “We both know she can be pretty scary, especially when things aren’t done the way she wants.”

_ “That’s true. Just be careful not to overdo it. I wouldn’t want you to set back your shoulder healing because you were doing something risky.” _ Caroline warned.

Ellie scoffed and shot back, “Yes mom, I’ll be careful.”

_ “We both know I’m right. But I should probably get off her and go check on my mom. It’s time for her to eat something.” _ Caroline told her.

“Ok, tell her I hope she feels better soon.” Ellie replied.

_ “I will. Talk to you later.” _

“Talk to you later.” Ellie said before she hung up the call as she headed inside, she bumped into Jenna. “Hey, have you been put to work yet?”

“Not yet, I haven’t found Mrs. Lockwood.” Jenna replied. “What about you?”

“Nope, I’ve been outside while I was on the phone with Caroline.”

“Is she on her way?” Jenna asked.

With a shake of her head, Ellie explained, “No, Sheriff Forbes is sick and so Caroline is staying home to take care of her.”

“That’s nice of her.” Jenna said and Ellie nodded in agreement. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I’m cooking dinner tonight. Ric’s gonna be coming over too.”

Ellie snorted slightly. “I think you mean, Ric’s going to be cooking while you stand there and look pretty. You’ll maybe even chop up a few things. But then again you with a knife could be pretty dangerous.”

“Ha ha, you’re so funny.” Jenna said sarcastically.

Grinning, Ellie asked, “Do you know what he’s going to be making then?”

“Not sure.”

“I’m sure it’ll be delicious though.” Ellie said as she tried not to laugh at the way Jenna was glaring at her.

“Jenna.” Mrs. Lockwood called as she approached, effectively ending the staring contest between the two of them. “Thanks for helping wrangle the volunteers.”

“Of course.” Jenna replied sincerely. “It’s for a good cause. Plus, I have always been a sucker for the masquerade ball.” She confessed.

Mrs. Lockwood smiled fondly before admitting, “So was Richard.” Ellie felt her heart squeeze as a way of sympathy washed over her. The man might have been a bastard that didn’t deserve Mrs. Lockwood or Tyler, but there must have been something good in him because Mrs. Lockwood really did love him. And it was clear as day that she missed him. “This was always his favorite party of the year.”

“Wait, wait, wait, Tyler!” Matt said from somewhere behind Ellie and Jenna.

It was a small blessing in disguise because the grief disappeared from Mrs. Lockwood’s features as she called, “Boys! Be careful with that, it’s from the 1800s! Excuse me. Tyler!” 

As she moved to leave, Ellie turned to Jenna and said, “I think that’s going to be entertaining, so I’m gonna follow them.”

“Mom, we got it.” Tyler was saying to his mother.

“Go on.” Jenna laughed and Ellie moved to do exactly that.

“Tyler make sure that you’re careful with this. All of this is irreplaceable.” Mrs. Lockwood was telling him as she made sure that he and Matt didn’t cause any damage to the table.

He looked irritated as he replied, “Yes mom, I know. We’re being careful. I promise. Nothing is going to happen to your precious table.” Sarcasm was dripping from his voice and Ellie could tell he was trying hard to not roll his eyes.

“You know, Mrs. Lockwood…” Ellie started and the older woman turned to look at her once the boys had set the table down in place. “I could keep an eye on them, make sure they don’t mess anything up or damage something of importance.” She said it sweetly, like all she wanted was to be useful, but she could see Matt grinning and shaking his head behind Mrs. Lockwood where she couldn’t see.

Mrs. Lockwood smiled gratefully. She clearly didn’t trust her son to be careful with such valuable items. “That would be very much appreciated Ellie. Thank you.” She told the teen honestly. “Well, with you keeping an eye on them, I should probably go make sure that everyone else is doing what they need to be.”

“Of course Mrs. Lockwood, I’ll make sure to keep the two of them in line.” Ellie promised. With that, Mrs. Lockwood gave her a smile before calling at someone else to tell them that they were putting some candles in the wrong place.

“‘I’ll make sure to keep the two of them in line.’” Tyler mocked as he made his voice ridiculously high in an attempt to mimic her. “Yeah right.”

Ellie rolled her eyes before flipping him off. “Shut up, idiot. You should be thanking me. If it wasn’t for me, she’d still be here making sure you didn’t damage the table.” 

“She’s right you know.” Matt replied and Ellie grinned at his support.

“Ha ha he’s on my side.” Ellie teased as she stuck her tongue out childishly at Tyler.

Tyler just rolled his eyes at her. “Shut up, Ellie.”

“Mmm, I don’t think I will.” She said as she smiled saccharinely. “Now, get back to work.”

* * *

The three of them were outside working on hanging the lights as Matt talked about his situation with Caroline. Ellie kept a hand on the ladder as Matt worked and he said, “I just don’t know what to do, honestly. She’s this amazing girl one minute, and then this raging jealous freak the next.”

“Look, you know what I think of Caroline Forbes.” Tyler told him. “She’s an insecure, neurotic, bitchy little twit.” He said harshly.

“Hey!” Matt and Ellie both snapped.

“But the girl’s got heart.” Tyler added honestly. “She means well. You just gotta take the good with the bad sometimes.”

“Yeah.” Matt agreed. “I’m gonna go get an extension cord. I’ll be right back.” Tyler and Ellie nodded as he walked off.

She turned to Tyler and gave him a look. “I adore you and all, but talk about Caroline like that again and I’ll kick your ass seven ways to Sunday.” She warned him seriously.

“I didn’t mean it like that, but yeah I’ll be nicer about it.” He agreed.

“Hey, man.” Jeremy said as he walked over to them.

“Hey.” Tyler replied.

Ellie gave her brother a funny look. She hadn’t known that he was coming to help today. “Jer, I didn’t know you were gonna be here.” She said in surprise. “You could’ve ridden with me and Jenna and Elena.”

“Oh, it’s fine, I had some stuff I had to do before I came here.” He assured her. Turning to Tyler he said, “But hey, I uh did a little research on that stone you showed me.”

Tyler shot him a slightly panicked look as he dared a glance at Ellie, but Ellie didn’t understand what the problem was. “What? Why?” He asked nervously.

“I don’t know. Curiosity, uh boredom.” Jeremy offered.

“What’d it say?” Tyler questioned.

“Well, it turns out that it’s part of this Aztec legend but I want to make sure it’s the same kind of stone. You think I could uh check it out again?” Jeremy asked.

Tyler shook his head. “Nope, gave it to my uncle.”

“Why’d you do that?”

“Because I’m done with legends and curses. I don’t want anything to do with it, ok?” Tyler told him.

“Yeah, yeah, sure.” Jeremy replied with a chuckle. “It’s probably just stupid folklore anyways. Forget it.”

Ellie made a face. “‘Probably’?” Ellie questioned. “You’re joking right? Tell me Anna didn’t get into your head and has got you thinking that things like vampires exist right?”

There was a flicker of an emotion Ellie couldn’t place that flashed across her brother’s features. But it disappeared as quickly as it came. He laughed again, this time sounding more forced and faked. “No, I don’t think things like vampires exist. That stuff only exists in movies.” He replied.

“And books and comics but yeah.” Ellie agreed.

“Well, I have to go see where Jenna went, but I’ll see you guys later.” Jeremy said before he walked off.

She turned to Tyler once Jeremy was gone. “What was that about?”

“Nothing, really, I just found some old family heirloom thing and showed your brother. I guess he thought it was interesting enough to do some digging.” Tyler shrugged in response.

Nodding along as she placed the candles where they needed to go she commented, “Yeah that makes sense I guess. I probably influenced him because of my mythology phase.”

“You say that as if you aren’t still in your mythology phase.” Tyler shot back. “You and I both know that you know you still read anything you can get your hands on.”

It was her turn to roll her eyes at him. “And what about it? Mythology is very interesting.”

“Yeah, ok. Whatever you say.” He told her.

Some time later she found herself standing with Matt and Elena as they sorted through masks and other accessories. “So where’s Caroline? This is like… her thing. I can’t believe she’s not here.” Matt asked.

“She had something else to do.” Elena told him.

Matt looked like he didn’t really want to ask, but he did. “Is she seeing someone?”

“Matt, come on.” Elena said in surprise. When his expression didn’t change, she softly replied, “No, she’s not.”

Stefan walked up and Elena stared at him in surprise, but before anything could be said between the two of them, Tyler walked in and asked, “Has anyone seen Mason?”

“He, uh, he took off. Said he wasn’t sure when he’d be back.” Stefan offered up.

“So weird.” Tyler said, more to himself than anyone else, before he walked off to see if his uncle was somewhere else.

A phone dinged and Ellie looked to see Stefan pulling his phone from his pocket. Elena noticed too and made a move to go to him, but he just walked away. What was going on there? Elena huffed in frustration and began shoving things into a box roughly. “I’m not even going to ask.” Matt told her.

It wasn’t even a minute later before Elena looked at the direction Stefan had disappeared in and told them, “I’ll be right back.” Matt gave her a thumbs up as she ran off.

“Since Elena was, you know, totally unhelpful when you asked, no Caroline isn’t seeing anyone. I promise you. I talked to her earlier and she said that Sheriff Forbes wasn’t feeling too well and that she was staying home to help take care of her.” Ellie explained and she watched as Matt sagged a bit in relief. 

“Oh.” He said in response. He didn’t seem to know what else to say. “That’s nice of her.”

“She can be nice on the occasion.” Ellie joked. “She’s just not always the best at expressing it.” Not knowing what else to say, she left it at that and the two of them fell back into an easy rhythm of working.

* * *

The day of preparation at the Lockwood’s went by smoothly after Elena had disappeared. It was strange though that everyone seemed to have vanished except for Ellie, Matt, and Tyler. Dealing with Tyler’s frustration and annoyance at being unable to find his uncle hadn’t been fun, but Ellie and Matt had managed it.

Matt had dropped Ellie off at home when he’d needed to leave to head to work, and once again the Gilbert witch had made her way to the house in the woods to visit Emily and the others. If she kept it up, her shoulder was going to feel brand new sooner rather than later. Even now, the pain in her shoulder was hardly anything more than a memory at this point. By the time she arrived home once again, Alaric had already arrived and was making preparations for dinner. “Hey Ellie.” He greeted her warmly. “Are you eating dinner tonight?” He asked.

“Definitely. I’m starving.” She informed him. “I’m gonna go get changed and then I’ll be down to help.” Alaric gave her a bright smile and a nod before she headed up to her room. Really it was such an odd sensation to have him around like this. Although it definitely wasn’t a bad thing. She absolutely adored the way he made Jenna so insanely happy, and he was a great person. She just didn’t necessarily know how to act with the knowledge that he was the husband of her biological mother.

She definitely wanted to bond with him though. Even if her birth mother was gone, it would be nice to have some sort of relationship with him. But what would that make him? Some sort of father figure? That would be nice. She shook her head to clear her thoughts as she changed. The sound of heavy footsteps told her that Jeremy was home. Once she changed, she knocked on his door. “Yeah?” He asked.

“Hey, Alaric’s making dinner, are you gonna eat?” She asked.

“Nah, I’m not really hungry.”

“Ok, I’ll try and make sure we have enough leftovers for you to eat later though. If you’re not hungry right now, you’ll probably be hungry at the most inconvenient time.” Ellie said.

He laughed a bit in agreement. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Thanks.”

Ellie took a moment to look at her little brother and  _ really _ look at him. Something was wrong. “Are you ok?” She asked softly. “You look kind of upset.”

“No, everything’s fine. I was probably out in the sun too long.” Jeremy replied.

She didn’t believe him in the slightest. Instead of pushing, she just nodded and reminded him, “Ok, but if you decide that it’s something else and you wanna talk, I’m here if you need me.” As she headed for the kitchen, Elena was making her way up the stairs, probably to change the same way Ellie had. Once Ellie was in the kitchen, she grinned at Jenna who was staring at Alaric as he worked. “Oh, Jer said he wasn’t hungry so he’s probably not going to eat right now. I did tell him that I’d try to make sure he had some to eat later though.”

“That’s nice of you.” Jenna said as she moved to help Alaric.

“I’m a saint, I know.” Ellie shot back as she moved to get stuff ready for a salad. 

The three of them worked together with ease until it was time to take the food out of the oven. “I’m going behind you guys so be careful.” Alaric told them as he moved the dish to the table. Ellie moved once he was past them to grab the butter for the bread. “Ellie can you grab the cups?”

“Yeah.” 

Jenna moved to answer the phone as Ellie walked past her. She had just finished putting the cups in place when Elena appeared. “Where’s Jeremy?”

“Oh, he went straight up to his room.” Alaric told her.

“He said he wasn’t hungry.” Ellie added.

“Who’s she talking to?” Elena asked.

Ellie shrugged as Alaric replied, “I don’t know. Everything go ok today?”

“There were a few hiccups, but yeah.” Elena confirmed.

“Of course, I understand.” Jenna said to whoever was on the phone as she made her way over to the others. “Elena, it’s for you.”

“Who is it?” Elena asked as she took the phone from her aunt. Jenna didn’t respond, but instead she walked off back to the kitchen. “Hello?” Elena stepped away from Ellie and Alaric to talk to whoever it was.

“Well, while she does that, I’m going to run to the bathroom really quick.” Ellie said to Alaric before heading up the stairs to go to the bathroom. 

She had just finished drying off her hands when she heard Elena’s panicked scream. Ellie slung the bathroom door open at the same time that Jeremy slung his bedroom door open. “What the hell was that?” He asked worriedly.

“I don’t know.” Ellie replied. The siblings wasted no time in running down the stairs to the kitchen to see Elena and Alaric dropped down next to Jenna as blood pooled up around the blood. “Jenna!” Ellie screamed. “What the hell happened?”

Elena looked up at her twin with terrified eyes. “I don’t know. Ellie, call 911! Now!” Elena begged. “Ellie hurry!” The call for help was just as much of a blur as the ride to the hospital. She held onto Jeremy’s hand like her life depended on it. Seeing Jenna the way she was felt like a punch to gut. Her breath was caught in her throat and she was struggling to breathe, but with Elena on the verge of tears and Jeremy so pale she thought he might pass out, now wasn’t the time to break. She was the oldest and it was her job to hold it together until they were alright. One moment at a time. She just had to hold it together for a little while longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a comment and let me know what you thought or if you have any questions.
> 
> Posted: 8/1/20


	26. Masquerade

**Chapter 26: Masquerade**

_March 23, 2010_

After what felt like a million years, the doctors had _finally_ deemed Jenna healed enough to go home. It had been a rush of paperwork as Jeremy and Elena gathered all of the ‘get well’ presents and balloons that Jenna had been given and Ellie gathered the blonde’s clothes. While Matt went to pull the car around, the three siblings were given very strict instructions by the doctors to try and make sure that Jenna healed up smoothly. 

They’d given Ellie a set of medications for Jenna to take. It was filled with things to make sure she didn’t get an infection, things for pain, things to help with healing. Jeremy may have made a joke about Jenna having enough meds to start her own pharmacy. Ellie might have whacked him over the head at Jenna’s request.

The ride home had been slow. Matt wasn’t going to risk going too fast and hitting a pothole or something else and hurting Jenna. Really, throughout all of this, Matt had been an absolute life saver. When the three siblings were being too stubborn and not getting the rest or food they needed, Matt wouldn’t back down until they left to do what they needed. He was really the one that kept them sane when they were worried sick. 

Matt had especially been Ellie’s life saver. She’d been so confused as to what happened. When she’d nearly gotten sick while cleaning up Jenna’s blood from the kitchen floor, he’d held her until she calmed down and then helped her clean it up. It wouldn’t surprise her if she’d cut the circulation off in his hand from holding on too tightly, but he never complained and she would love him forever for it.

When they arrived home, both Matt and Jeremy moved to support the injured blonde. Jenna looked like she wanted to protest, like she wanted to say something about being able to do it herself but Ellie cut her off before she had the chance. “Don’t try and say you don’t need their help. You do. Fight me on this and I won’t make those cookies you’ve been wanting.” Ellie warned. Surprisingly, the threat of no cookies was enough to get Jenna to go with it.

Ellie moved ahead of them to unlock the door, before opening it so that they could walk inside. “Easy…” Matt said as they moved through the doorway. “Grab the door, Jer.”

“Stop fussing, I’m fine.” Jenna told them.

As she dropped her arm from where she’d had it wrapped around Jeremy, she moved to hold a hand over her wound. “The doctor said that you have to take it easy.” Elena reminded her.

“Yeah, you don’t want to rip your stitches, hemorrhage and die, right?” Jeremy said as he closed the door.

Ellie kept a hand out in front of Jenna as she and Matt carefully made the small step down into the living room. “Yeah, the only thing I’m gonna die from is embarrassment.” Jenna shot back.

“No…” Matt assured her.

“I ‘walked’ into a knife. How does somebody do that?” Jenna questioned.

“It was a freak accident.” Elena offered up.

“Yeah, it happens.” Jeremy agreed.

Matt added in, “Yeah, I mean, I’ve done it, like, twenty times at The Grill.” Jenna couldn’t help but laugh as Ellie grinned. The sudden movement must have pulled at her injury given her small ‘ow’. “Ok, I’m being nice.” Matt admitted. “Be careful, all right, easy.” He said as he helped lower Jenna down onto the couch. “What should I do with this?” Matt asked as he held up the paper bag he was holding.

“I got it.” Elena told him as she took it, and all the get well presents she was holding, into the kitchen. Jeremy followed Elena as Ellie and Matt sat down onto the coffee table.

Jenna just sighed and gave them an awkward smile. “Bikinis are totally gonna be ruined for me.” Jenna groaned as she made a face at where her injury was.

“I don’t think Alaric’s gonna mind Jenna.” Ellie shot back and she grinned when her aunt’s cheeks turned a very pretty rosy color. “Besides, _if_ it scars, because it might not, you could always say that you got into a fight with like an angry troll or something.”

“What?” Matt asked as he and Jenna looked at her.

“Not a whole lot of people know what happened, and there’s no rule that says you can’t have fun with the backstory behind a scar.” Ellie told them. When they continued to give her funny looks, and shrugged. “What, am I wrong?”

“I’ll be back!” Jeremy called to the three in the living room. Both Matt and Ellie waved him off as he headed out.

“Ellie, are you still going to the masquerade ball tonight?” Jenna asked as she shifted in her spot. “Please tell me you’re still going. I need someone to be there so I can be there in spirit.”

“Yes, Jenna. I’m still going. It would be a shame to let that dress go to waste.” Ellie joked.

The blonde nodded. “Good. Good.” 

It wasn’t long after that Matt had decided to head out. The three teens walked side by side as Elena offered, “You know, you’re welcome to hang out. Alaric’s coming over. It’s gonna be pizza and bad TV.”

“Uh, I’d love to but I’m going to the masquerade party at the Lockwood’s.” Matt confessed. “Aren’t you?”

Elena looked hesitant but replied, “Uh, no… not with what’s going on with me and Stefan.”

“I’ve got to go. There’s something that I’ve got to do.” Matt told her.

“What?” Elena asked curiously.

“Just something. I can’t talk about it.” Matt said. “But I’ve got to go.”

That was odd. Ellie couldn’t think of anything that he’d need to do that he wouldn’t be able to tell the two of them about. She leaned over and whispered in Elena’s ear, “He’s probably going to watch Caroline the same way she’s been watching him.”

Elena grinned at her sister slightly before turning back to Matt. “Ok, well, have fun.”

“Yeah, me in a suit.”

“You look good in a suit.” Elena assured him.

Instead of replying to that, he told her, “You and Stefan will work it out.”

“Um, I don’t think so, Matt.” Elena replied softly. “There’s so much about me and Stefan that will never work.”

He took a look at her sad face and moved towards her to take a hold of her arms. “You know I’m here for you. Always.” He promised her.

She pulled him into a grateful hug and when they broke apart, he moved to hug Ellie just as tightly. “Thank you for everything.” Ellie told him sincerely. She didn’t know what she would do if she didn’t have Matt in her life.

“You don’t have to thank me.” He said. When he released her he said, “So, Ellie, I’ll see you at Tyler’s?”

“Mmhmm, you better save me a dance.” She warned him playfully.

“Of course.” He agreed. “Well, I gotta get going.”

“Bye.” The girls said together as he headed out. Once he was gone, Elena turned to Ellie. “You’re still going to the masquerade?”

“Yeah. I promised Jenna I would.” Ellie admitted. “You could still go too. Alaric’s going to be here with Jenna. You’ll be fine if you want to go.”

Elena shook her head. “I just don’t know.”

“Well, if you change your mind. You know where I’ll be.” Ellie offered. Elena nodded and Ellie headed up to her room. As she gathered her stuff to make sure it was all where it needed to be, she called Caroline. “Hey Care!” Ellie greeted excitedly.

 _“Hey! What’s up?”_ Caroline replied.

“Please tell me that you’re still going to the party tonight.” Ellie begged.

 _“Yeah. Are you?”_

“Yeah, but Elena’s not. She said with what’s going on with Stefan she wasn’t feeling up to it.” Ellie explained. “Maybe she’ll change her mind.”

 _“Maybe, but Elena’s stubborn. We both know that.”_ Caroline reminded her.

“Very true. But hey! Want me to come to your place and we can get ready together?” Ellie asked.

 _“Definitely! You’re always better at curling my hair just right. I always feel like I mess up the back because I can’t turn my hand the right way.”_ Caroline said.

Ellie laughed as she started packing her makeup into a kit. “I’m just talented like that. Are you at home? If you are, I can be headed that way in a few minutes.”

 _“Yeah, I just got home from running errands. So you can come over whenever. The door will be unlocked.”_ Caroline informed her.

“Ok. I’ll head that way shortly.” Ellie said before hanging up. She gathered up her makeup and hair products before taking her dress out of her closet and grabbing the matching mask and shoes. As she headed down the stairs she called out, “I’m going to Caroline’s!”

Jenna called back, “Ok, have fun!” 

The drive to Caroline’s was filled with excitement. The duo had been waiting for the masquerade ball for ages. She could remember with startling clarity all the dress hunts they went on. When she arrived, Caroline was waiting excitedly at the front door. “Come on. We need to get a move on so that we have time to take pictures.”

Ellie followed her best friend inside and they headed for the bedroom. As they got ready they chatted easily as Ellie filled Caroline in on everything that had been going on with Jenna since she’d been in the hospital. They worked in sync. Being best friends for so long made it easy to work without getting in each other’s way. Ellie carefully curled Caroline’s hair as the blonde put on her makeup before they switched positions.

By the time they’d finished their hair and makeup, the sun had already set. Caroline had picked out a beautiful one shoulder dress that had a silver embellishment at the side of her waist and fell to her knees. “You look beautiful Care.” Ellie said sincerely as she pulled on her own dress and moved to let Caroline zip her up.

“You too, Ellie.” Caroline replied just as honestly. Ellie had picked a deep emerald green dress with a cut out back that flowed to her knees. Part of the reason she’d bought it was for the way it looked when she twirled. “Come on, let’s take pictures before we go.” Once they’d taken enough photos, they grabbed their masks and their bags and headed for Caroline’s car.

* * *

Once they arrived, they wandered around arm in arm before finding Bonnie looking at some of the people dancing with fire. “Bonnie!” Ellie exclaimed as she threw her arms around the other witch. “You look absolutely stunning!” She told her. Bonnie had picked out a beautiful black lace dress with a white slip underneath and like Caroline’s it was also a one shoulder dress. Her outfit was paired with a black and red mask that she’d already put on.

“Thank you!” Bonnie replied. “You guys look great.”

“Ellie, we almost forgot to put our masks on!” Caroline said in surprise and Ellie quickly secured her mask in place and Caroline lifted hers up since she’d opted for one that was attached to a stick. “Wait, I’m sure Mrs. Lockwood set up a photo station. Let’s go!”

“I don’t know, Care.” Bonnie tried, but the blonde wasn’t having it. Instead, Caroline latched on to Bonnie’s wrist before grabbing Ellie as well and pulling them through the party. It didn’t take long for them to find a spot to take photos and despite Bonnie’s original protest, the two witches gave into Caroline’s request. “Ok, ok, ok, I have to go do something, but I’ll see you guys later.” With that, she slipped away before Caroline could stop her.

“Mrs. Lockwood really outdid herself.” Caroline commented as they moved through the house. “Everything looks amazing.”

Ellie nodded in agreement. “Yeah, but it’s no surprise. The woman has an eye for design. It took forever to get set up though.” Caroline didn’t reply. When she turned to see what had caught her friend’s attention, she found the blonde staring longingly at Matt. Deciding that it wouldn’t hurt to give the blonde some space to either stare or actually go talk to her ex, Ellie said, “I’m gonna go get a drink. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Ok.” Caroline said distractedly as she continued to stare at Matt.

There were lots of people floating about the party and she was constantly having to sidestep to avoid bumping into some of the ones that were already tipsy, verging on drunk. She did actually end up going to get a drink, and downed it before she continued on. To her _extreme_ surprise, she spotted Elena walking alone. “Elena?” Ellie called out in surprise. Her twin had on a tight black dress with a wide belt pulling in her waist and her hair was straightened with part of it pulled back.

“Ellie! Hey!” Elena called as she walked over to her sister.

“What happened? I thought you weren’t gonna come because of everything with Stefan?” Ellie asked curiously. “You look drop dead gorgeous!”

Elena smiled brightly at her before replying, “You too. Really that green suits you so well.” Elena told her.

“Come on, we should take some pictures because I’m sure Jenna will want to see.” Ellie said as she began pulling Elena back in the direction that Ellie had come from.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Elena said hesitantly.

Turning back to face her, Ellie gave her sister a look. “Elena, you look like a literal goddess. It would be a waste if we didn’t take at least some pictures.” She told her. “Come _on_ , we didn’t even get to take pictures at the decade dance. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

Thankfully, Elena gave in and allowed Ellie to loop their arms together as they made their way to the photobooth. “Elena, Ellie, you guys look amazing!” A red headed girl in a dark blue dress said as she walked their way.

“Thank you!” The twins replied as they passed the other girl. “Who was that again?” Elena asked curiously as she spared a glance at the girl over her shoulder.

“That’s Katie. She’s in our history class. She sits in like the very back on the left I think.” Ellie explained as they found the photo station. They took several photos together but Ellie’s favorite was definitely the one of her standing behind Elena as she sat on a stool with Ellie looping her arms around Elena’s shoulders. As they headed back into the party, Ellie commented, “Caroline and Bonnie are both here. I don’t know if Stefan is though. I can always fight Stefan if I need to.” She offered and Elena gave her a surprised grin. “You’re my sister, Elena. I’m always going to have your back.”

Elena looped their arms together again as she replied, “Thanks.”

“Plus, if it’s worth anything, I think Matt’s right. I think you and Stefan will work out whatever it is that’s going on.” Ellie added.

“I hope so. I just don’t know if it’s going to happen.” Elena confessed as the duo pulled drinks off a tray as a waiter walked by.

Ellie shrugged. “Well then, I guess whatever happens happens. So instead of talking about boy drama and getting sad, how about we go dance instead?” 

“That sounds like an excellent idea.” Elena agreed as they made their way towards one of the dance floors. Because, _of course_ , Mrs. Lockwood had more than one set up. The dance floor they found was playing more upbeat music and Elena took Ellie by surprise by pulling her into a quick spin and then dipping her back lowly.

“Oh, so you’ve got moves my darling sister.” Ellie teased.

“You’ve got no idea.” Elena shot back as they moved smoothly past a drunk guy who looked about three seconds away from blowing chunks.

Elena wrinkled her nose in distaste at the drunk guy. “You think he’d have a better tolerance.” Ellie said sarcastically as the guys continued to stumble towards the house.

“Honestly.” Elena agreed.

“Do you know if Jer came tonight? I haven’t seen him since he left the house when we brought Jenna home.” Ellie asked.

Her sister shrugged as they twirled around each other. “No clue. Haven’t seen him since I’ve been here.” 

Ellie looked through the crowd and spotted Stefan walking in the opposite direction of where Ellie and Elena were dancing. “Hey, I know you and Stefan are having issues, but maybe things would be a bit better if you two talked things out?” She suggested and Elena slowly stopped dancing and stared at Ellie.

“What makes you say that?” Elena questioned.

“Talking typically helps at least a little bit when stuff is complicated.” Ellie offered. “Plus, I just saw him.”

Elena straightened up almost instantly. “Where?” She asked as she turned to look around the dance floor.

“He was walking that way. I think there’s another dance floor and refreshment station that way.” Ellie said as she pointed her in the right direction.

“You know what. I think I’ll take your advice. I’m gonna go try and talk to him.” Elena told her.

“Good luck.” Ellie smiled at her before giving her hand a squeeze. “I’ll see you later. Go get your man.” Elena returned the smile before smoothly walking between the dancing people to head in the direction Stefan had gone. She made her way off the dance floor a moment after Elena and headed back inside the house. 

“Ellie!” Matt called loudly and cheerfully and she turned to see him standing with Tyler. “Hey Ellie!” He called again and headed her way. She immediately picked up on the way he was swaying slightly. He was tipsy and verging on drunk.

“Hey Matty.” She replied as he pulled her into a tight hug. She could smell the vodka on him. “Smells like you’ve been having fun so far.” Ellie said as she walked over towards Tyler. “Have you been having fun too?” 

Tyler laughed as he too hugged the Gilbert girl. “Not as much fun as him. Surprisingly enough, he’d been the one corrupting me tonight. I’m kind of proud to be honest.” Tyler joked. “Want a drink?”

“Oh, if I’m going to have to deal with you two then yeah I’m gonna need it.” She said as she let out an over dramatic sigh. Tyler rolled his eyes at her as he passed her his cup. She couldn’t help but wince slightly at the burn as it ran down her throat. “Well someone went for the strong stuff tonight.” She commented as she passed the cup back to him.

“Ha ha you’re so funny.” Tyler told her as he looped his arm around her shoulders. “Though we have been hanging out with Sarah and Aimee since you were nowhere to be found. Maybe you’ve been replaced.”

Ellie couldn’t help but scoff. “Yeah, ok, sure. Aimee’s been following you guys around because she has a crush on Matt and she’s Sarah’s friend. You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if I left you two alone for too long.” Ellie informed him.

“You are very very right.” Matt agreed as he took another drink. “The best friend in the whole wide world, that’s Ellie.”

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Tyler asked with faux-offense.

“No, that’s too fancy for you.” Ellie shot back. “But if you’ve been hanging with Sarah and Aimee so much, where are they now?”

“I don’t know. I’m not their keeper. I’m sure they’ll find their way back when they want more alcohol.” Tyler replied.

Almost as if on cue, Sarah appeared at the end of the hallway and smiled brightly when she spotted the trio. “Speak of alcohol and the drunks shall appear.” Ellie said more to herself than the boys.

“Oh my gosh, Ellie, you look fantastic.” Sarah told her as she gave the other girl a once over. “I saw Elena earlier too, where do you guys go shopping because your dresses are to die for?”

Ellie laughed at the compliment. “Well, I’m not sure where Elena got her dress to be honest. I’ll have to ask her about it later. But I’m pretty sure I got this at that little boutique in the mall.” Ellie admitted.

“Come on, let’s go drink.” Matt told them as he started pulling them along. Ellie raised an eyebrow but didn’t protest. Tyler obviously knew where Matt intended to go from the way that he took the lead and Ellie couldn’t help but laugh along as Sarah tried to retell something funny she’d heard, but she was too amused to tell them without laughing. As they walked along, Matt somehow fell behind and Ellie turned to wait on him. “Thanks for waiting.” He said as he made his way to her and she continued on the path Tyler had taken.

“No problem, Matty.” She assured him. They ended up in what had been Mayor Lockwood’s office. Sarah was pouring herself a drink as Tyler lounged in one of the plush leather chairs that decorated the office. Ellie dropped down beside Tyler and gave him a once over to see how drunk he was. From the looks of it, he was barely buzzed. “Hey.” She said softly, her voice dropped low enough that it was unlike that Matt or Sarah would overhear.

“Hey.” He replied. His voice was also lowered to a near whisper.

For the most part, he looked ok, but she knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t perfectly alright. “Are you ok?” She asked him worriedly.

His glance flickered over to the two drunk teens before replying, “Yeah, why.”

“I don’t know. I mean this is the first big Lockwood function since…” She trailed off, but she didn’t need to finish the statement for him to understand. “I just wanted to check on you.”

Tyler looked, for a split second, like he was going to lie before he thought better of it. “Mom’s really missing him tonight. I kind of miss him too. I don’t know why though. He was a dick most of the time.” 

“He was still your dad, Ty. It’s ok to miss him.” She told him sincerely. “I know I probably don’t have to remind you, but if you ever need to talk, I’m here.”

“I know.”

“Did you ever get a hold of Mason? I’ve been trying to call him, but it just goes to voicemail.” Ellie asked.

He shook his head. “I’ve been calling and texting, hell I even emailed him, but it’s been radio silence since he bailed.”

“Maybe something came up and he had to go back suddenly? Hopefully he calls one of us or comes back soon. I’ll kick his ass for bailing without so much as a goodbye.”

“Oh let me know when you do so I can get it on tape.” Tyler told her with a small grin.

Before the atmosphere around the two teens could turn gloomy, Sarah spoke loud enough to catch their attention. “So, what happened to Aimee?” Sarah asked as she poured herself another drink.

“I don’t know, she disappeared.” Matt replied as he took a heavy drink from the bottle.

“She’s probably drunk somewhere.” Tyler offered as he laughed with the girls.

“Like me.” Matt said.

Out of nowhere, Matt turned the bottle and poured it over Mayor Lockwood’s desk. “Whoa! Don’t do that.” Tyler told him seriously.

“What, man? It’s a party.” Matt was very clearly wasted.

“Not that kind of party, Matt.” Ellie warned.

Matt ignored her, instead he picked up a framed photo of Mayor Lockwood and Mrs. Lockwood. “Right, dad?” He asked. “You know, it looks like your dad wants a drink.” Matt unscrewed the cap to the bottle and poured it over the picture frame.

“Matt!” Ellie said sharply as she and Tyler rose from their seats.

“Hey. That’s not cool.” Tyler told him and Ellie could see he was trying hard to keep his emotions in check. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What? The guy was a dick.” Matt said uncaringly.

“Come on, you’re being mean. His dad’s dead.” Sarah said from her spot in one of the chairs. She looked incredibly uncomfortable with the way Matt was suddenly acting.

“Give me the picture.” Tyler said as he carefully kept his tone even.

Instead of letting him take it, Matt snatched his arm back behind his head and out of Tyler’s reach. “Whoa!” Matt told him. “Remember how your dad used to slap you around?” Ellie’s jaw dropped when Matt reached out and slapped Tyler across the face.

“Ok, seriously Matt what the hell have you been drinking? You are _way_ out of line!” Ellie snapped at him.

“Are you kidding?” Tyler asked in disbelief. No matter what Matt drank he had never acted the way he was acting right now.

“Just having fun.”

“This is most definitely not fun nor is it funny, Matt.” Ellie told him. This was about half a second away from turning into a shit show.

“Put the picture down, man.” Tyler demanded.

Tyler managed to take a half step towards Matt before the other boy slammed the picture against the desk and Ellie flinched back as the shattered glass flew out. She yelped but Tyler advanced on the other boy. “Ok, you need to calm your drunk ass down right now!”

Matt pushed Tyler away from him. “Do something about it.”

“I’m not going to fight you.” Tyler insisted. Sarah stood up suddenly and Ellie moved to try and block the other girl so that she wouldn’t get hurt in case it turned into a fight. It seemed that wasn’t the answer that Matt wanted. Suddenly, he tackled Tyler and started throwing heavy punches.

The Lockwood was trying his best to not hit back, but Ellie knew the punches Matt kept landing were very solid hits. “Matt stop it!” She shrieked.

“Get off me!” Tyler managed to push Matt back until he fell off of Tyler and onto the floor. Finally, Tyler threw a punch at Matt and the duo struggled against one another.

“What is going on?” Caroline asked as she rushed in. “Stop!” She must have managed to catch Matt when he wasn’t balanced because when she grabbed him he stumbled back before collapsing on the floor. He was quick to get back up to try and go back at Tyler. “Stop!”

“I can’t! Let me go! I have to finish!” Matt yelled.

“Ellie, go get him a glass of water and some food to sober him up, now!” Caroline shouted and despite being worried that one of her friends would end up hurt, she did as asked and rushed out of the room to try and get something to help Matt sober up.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Tyler was asking as she rushed out. She forced her way through the crowded halls as she searched for something that would be heavy in his stomach. The more bread the better. It would help absorb the alcohol. A first aid kit would probably also be helpful. With the way Matt was acting, it would probably be necessary by the time she got back.

The first aid kit was actually the easiest to find. She’d been in this house enough to know where she could typically find one. Some people were starting to leave by the time Ellie finally found something that Matt could eat. She picked up a bottle of water and headed back to the office. The last thing she’d been expecting was to see Sarah lying motionless on the ground next to the desk as Caroline talked to her mom. “Wait, what?” Ellie asked in shock. 

Caroline and Sheriff Forbes turned at the sound of Ellie’s voice, Tyler and Mrs. Lockwood also jerked when they heard her. “Oh my gosh, Ellie.” Mrs. Lockwood said as she walked over to the teen hastily. “You don’t need to see this.”

While she appreciated Mrs. Lockwood’s attempt to protect her from the horrific sight of Sarah’s clearly dead body, Ellie wanted to know what happened. “Ty, what’s going on? What happened to Sarah?”

Tyler looked like he was on the verge of getting sick. “She fell and hit her head.” Mrs. Lockwood supplied. “It was a horrible accident.” It almost sounded rehearsed, not dissimilar to the way Elena had said ‘I’m fine, thank you’ at the beginning of the year.

“Ty, do you want me to stay?” Ellie asked him worriedly as she set down the things she’d been holding to reach for his hand instead.

He shook his head. “I have to give my statement to Sheriff Forbes about what happened and then once we can get people cleared out they’re going to have to come get Sarah. It’s going to be a bit of a mess.” He told her. “It would probably be better if you just went home.”

“Are you sure?” She pressed. He didn’t look like he was sure.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” It still sounded like a lie, but she knew now wasn’t the time to push.

“Ok.” She said instead. “Just text me later?”

“I will.” He promised. “Get home safe.”

She wanted to ask where Matt was. She also wanted to mention that Caroline had been her ride. But it didn’t seem like the time. If she was lucky, Elena was still at the party. “I’ll talk to you later.” She told him and once he nodded in understanding, she turned and left. The sight of Sarah’s lifeless body was probably going to follow her into her nightmares. Ellie wandered out into the parking lot as she scanned the crowd for Elena. Luck was on her side and she spotted Elena walking through some of the cars. “Elena!” She called as she rushed towards her.

Elena turned in surprise and Ellie could see that she was on the phone with someone. That would explain why she hadn’t responded to Ellie’s texts. “Ellie?” She asked in surprise.

For whatever reason, Elena had changed out of her stunning dress and was back in the clothes she’d been wearing before the party. It was a bit of a smart thing to do, in Ellie’s opinion. By bringing a spare set of clothes to change into once she was ready to leave, it would definitely make the drive home way more comfortable. “When did you change out of your dress?”

“Uh, just a few minutes ago.” Elena said hesitantly. Whoever she was speaking to must have said something that caught her attention. “It’s just Ellie, Jer. And yes, Jeremy, I’ve got my car.”

“Perfect, do you think you could give me a lift home? I came here with Care and she’s…” She hesitated over what to say about Sarah. Given that she didn’t want to get into the details at the moment, she glossed over it. “She’s got something that’s going to keep her here for a bit and I’m ready to go home.”

“Ok.” Elena agreed. Ellie turned to walk ahead of her sister and could somewhat hear Elena telling Jeremy to tell Bonnie something, but she didn’t bother to pay much attention to it. 

Ellie walked ahead to the car and tugged on the handle when she realized it was still locked. “Elena, open the door.” She groaned as she turned to glare at her twin. Only, Elena was nowhere to be seen. “Elena? Where’d you go?” When Elena didn’t reply, she walked back to where they’d come from. “Elena? This isn’t funny, come on, I want to go to bed.” She walked around an SUV and choked on a gasp when she saw Elena’s collapsed body. “Oh my god! Elena!” She shouted as she rushed over to her. “What happened?” She asked in a panic as she reached to try and find a pulse. She’d already seen one dead body tonight. She absolutely could not handle seeing her sister’s dead body.

Thankfully, she found a pulse with ease. The steady thrumming only did a bit to ease her racing heart. Something in the air shifted and Ellie turned to look behind her only to see a man in a full mask. He snatched her and put a thick cloth up to her nose and mouth before she had a chance to react. Her scream did nothing with the cloth and his hand muffling her. It was almost instantly that she started to feel fuzzy. Her eyes started to roll back as she tried to claw at his hand to get it off. It did no good. The last thing she saw was the man reaching for Elena’s unconscious body before everything just faded into nothingness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behold! Ellie and Katherine's first interaction. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts or if you guys have any questions!
> 
> Posted: 8/8/20


	27. Rose

**Chapter 27: Rose**

_ March 24, 2010 _

Ellie was the one to wake first. Her hands and feet were both bound securely. One look over at Elena confirmed that she was in a similar state. The unfamiliar man noticed her state of consciousness almost immediately. He stared her down through the mirror and warned, “If you so much as think about trying anything funny, I’ll kill the both of you.” His tone told her just how serious he was and she didn’t doubt for a second that he’d do it. 

With his threat in mind, she remained still and silent, despite the fact that she desperately wanted to check on Elena. This whole scenario felt like it was out of movie, not her real life. Hell, her being a witch felt more realistic than this kidnapping. There was nothing around for what looked like miles. It was just trees and then empty fields. The only thing around was a ridiculously large mansion that seemed to be their destination.

Elena moved slightly in her sleep, and for her sister’s sake, she hoped Elena would just continue to sleep. He pulled up and killed the engine and Ellie felt herself tense. The man opened her door first. Without any warning, he yanked her from her spot and began carrying her inside. “Why-” She started.

“Do not speak.” He insisted. He carried her through the house and deposited her onto a couch. “You move an inch and I kill her.” Without another word, he turned and headed back the way he came; she was sure he was going to get Elena.

She could hear footsteps and as he appeared within her line of sight, she could hear Elena panting. “Please…” Elena begged. He dropped Elena onto the couch on the opposite side of where he had placed Ellie. He began pulling off his gloves before he removed his hat, glasses, and jacket. He tossed them down carelessly. Ellie had watched enough Criminal Minds to know that if a kidnapper let them see his face, their chances of escaping alive were slim. He sat down on the edge of the couch and began pulling the ropes off of Elena’s legs and hands. “What do you want?” She begged.

“Shhh…” He shushed her as he continued on her ropes.

“Please, I’m hurt.” Elena told him. The moment she said it, Ellie spotted the blood dried on Elena’s sleeve.

“I know.” He replied. As he finished removing Elena’s bindings, Ellie watched in horror as his eyes shifted to a terrifyingly unnatural red. “Just a taste.”

Both Elena and Ellie shouted in terror before a woman’s voice snapped at the man. “Trevor! Control yourself.” The woman demanded.

“Buzz kill.” He huffed as he stood from the couch.

Ellie was shaking as the man, Trevor, walked off. “What do you want with us?”

The woman was staring at the twins with intensity. “My god, the two of you look just like her.” She moved to take Trevor’s place on the couch, but faced Ellie instead as she began untying her bindings.

“But, I’m not. Neither of us are. Please, whatever you want…” Elena pleaded.

“Be quiet.” The woman snapped. She was much faster at undoing the ropes than Trevor had been.

“But I’m not Katherine.” Elena insisted as the woman finished untying Ellie and she stepped away from the twins. “My name is Elena Gilbert. This is my twin sister, Ellie. You don’t have to do this.” Elena said as she stood and stepped towards the kidnapper.

“I know who you are.” The woman hissed. “I said be quiet.”

“What do you want?” Elena repeated. It was apparently the wrong thing to say, because the woman swiftly backhanded Elena and she flew back into the couch before sliding so that she was laying in an awkward position, once again unconscious.

“I want you to be quiet.” The woman sassed. She turned back to face Ellie, who was curled up as she stared at the woman in horror. Her fear was strong enough to keep her glued to her spot, despite her renewed concern for Elena. “Am I going to have the same issue with you?” Ellie shook her head mutely. “Good. Do not even think about trying to leave.”

After a moment of deafening silence, the woman turned and strode out of the room. She tried to think past her fear. If not for herself, then for the fact that Elena was also in danger. Maybe if this kidnapping wasn’t so insane, she wouldn’t be hesitating so much. But that man’s eyes… what the hell had that been? People’s eyes weren’t supposed to do that. Yeah sure, they could get kind of red when they were irritated, but that man’s eyes had been as red as blood. He’d said he’d wanted a taste after Elena told him she was injured. Did he mean he wanted her blood? What the hell?

Who was Katherine? Why did that name ring a bell? As far as she knew, she didn’t know any Katherine’s. She especially didn’t know one that looked enough like her and Elena that people might get them confused. Once she knew the lady had been gone long enough that she probably wasn’t going to appear out of thin air and scare her half to death, she moved very slowly towards Elena. She made her way across the small space of the couch as she tried to make as little noise as possible.

The very last thing she wanted was to anger the very scary lady. She could faintly hear the woman and Trevor talking a few rooms over as she gingerly checked for a pulse. Once again, her body sagged with relief when she felt the steady thrum of Elena’s heartbeat. Despite the situation, she tried to make Elena a bit more comfortable by adjusting her body into something more similar to the way she’d lay if she was sleeping on the couch at home.

It was when she shifted Elena’s body to put her in a more comfortable position that she saw the deep red completely staining the back of Elena’s originally pink shirt. “Oh my…” Ellie was shaking as she touched the stain. There was so much blood. There was no way that this was anything other than blood. She spared a panicked glance in the direction that the woman and Trevor had gone before slowly pulling up the back of Elena’s shirt.

If Elena was as badly injured as the blood would suggest, then the last thing she wanted was to rip open a wound if it was stuck to her shirt. But, the shirt came up off her back rather smoothly. It was slightly stuck in some places, but Elena’s back was smooth and completely injury free. The only thing that was wrong with her back was the way it was stained red with dried blood. What the hell had happened? All signs pointed to the fact that this should be Elena’s blood, but how could there be this much of her blood with no injury?

* * *

She wasn’t sure how long it had been since she’d last seen the woman or Trevor, but Elena still remained unconscious. At first, she’d been terrified that the woman’s hit to Elena had done serious damage. So she made as little noise as possible as she cast a healing spell on Elena. If Elena had a concussion, she wasn’t sure how effective it would be. But it couldn’t hurt to try.

During the time she’d had to think, she decided it would be too dangerous to try and use her magic to escape unless it was absolutely life or death. There were too many unknown variables. Trevor’s eyes shouldn’t have been able to turn that color and then turn back so quickly. There was no rational explanation to explain how in the world that woman was so strong to take Elena out like that with one seemingly effortless hit. They didn’t seem like regular people. Were they witches too? Maybe the woman was a witch that had used a spell to augment her strength? Ellie was fairly certain she’d seen some type of spell that could do that. Maybe the guy was just a freak? Like Hannibal Lector. “How are the girls?” The woman asked. Her voice was much louder than it had been the last time she’d heard her voice. They must have been much closer.

“The injured one is still passed out. The one in the dress has barely moved an inch.” Trevor told her. Good, that meant that he probably didn’t hear her casting the spell.

“You didn’t touch her, did you?” The woman asked sharply. “If you have any kind of brain, you didn’t touch either of them.” It was only slightly reassuring that the woman seemed so aggressively opposed to him doing anything to them.

“Give me some credit.” Trevor said. She wasn’t sure why he sounded so offended. “So you called him?” He asked as Ellie noticed Elena shift.

Ellie held up a finger to her lips. It would be better if their kidnappers didn’t know that she was awake. “No. I called one of his contacts. You know how this works.” The woman told him. He knows how what works? He who? A million questions were buzzing around in her mind. 

“Look, did you or did you not get the message to Elijah?” Trevor asked.

Elena decided she was going to try something stupid and began to stand. Ellie yanked violently on her sister’s sleeve. “What are you doing?” Ellie hissed as quietly as possible.

Her sister shushed her and motioned for her to follow. Despite not really hearing her, Ellie could see Elena mouthing for her to come on. Ellie shook her head. That was a very, very bad idea. Ellie tried to get her sister to sit back down, but Elena wouldn’t. Ellie watched in horror as Elena crept towards the door. “They say he got it.” The woman replied. They both seemed slightly agitated, which meant Elena doing what she was doing was even more dangerous.

It was a slightly terrifying thought for Ellie to realize that she would do absolutely anything to keep Elena alive. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt anyone, even her kidnappers, but if they tried to kill Elena, she’d kill them first. She understood now why both Miss Sheila and Emily had wanted her to learn how to defend herself. “Wonderful. And what?” Trevor asked sarcastically.

“So, that’s it, Trevor.” The woman said it like they’d had this conversation before. “He either got it, or he didn’t. We just have to wait.”

“Look, i-it’s not too late. We can leave them here. We don’t  _ have  _ to go through with this.” Trevor said and Ellie was concerned at the way his voice indicated that he was very much frightened.

“I’m  _ sick _ of running.” The woman explained.

“Yeah?” He asked sarcastically. “Well, running keeps us from dying.” He reminded her. Dying? What the hell was going on?

“Elijah is old school. If he accepts our deal, we’re free.” The woman told him. Who was this Elijah guy? Was he some sort of mobster or something? If he was, then how could Elena and Ellie get these people their freedom? What had they done that required them to be on the run to survive? Of course, Elena just had to step on a floorboard that would make a noise. “You!” The woman snapped. “There’s nothing around here for miles. If you think you’re getting out of this house, you’re tragically wrong, understand?”

“Who’s Elijah?” Elena asked. Ellie wanted to wring her stupid neck. Did she not learn from the last time the woman rendered her unconscious?

“He’s your worst nightmare.” The woman said seriously. It seemed that she wasn’t going to murder Elena for being up and walking around, so Ellie nervously made her way to her sister.

As the woman walked off into another room, Ellie grabbed a hold of Elena’s arm. “You are going to get yourself killed.” She hissed quietly.

“No. I’m not.” Elena said as she followed after the woman. Knowing that the only way to protect her sister and herself was to be with Elena, she followed. “Why are we here?” Elena asked the woman as she stood in the doorway.

The woman was standing at a dusty desk as she clicked on a lamp. “You keep asking me these questions like I’m going to answer them.” The woman replied.

“Why won’t you?”

“Why won’t you shut up, Elena?” Ellie hissed.

“That’s another one.” The woman replied. “You should listen to your sister. She seems to have some common sense at least.”

“You got us. Ok? It’s not like we can go anywhere.” Elena said as she stepped fully into the room. Interestingly enough, the woman was putting up what looked like sheets of plywood or maybe cardboard to block out the sunlight. “The least you can do is tell me what you want with us.”

“I personally want nothing.” The woman confessed. Ellie made a face of confusion as the woman continued, “I’m just a delivery service.” 

“Delivery to who? Elijah?” Elena asked. She said exactly what Ellie was thinking.

The woman laughed slightly. “Two points to the eavesdropper.”

“Who is he? Is he a vampire?” Elena asked and Ellie felt her eyes go wide. What in the hell was Elena talking about? Vampires weren’t real. There was absolutely no way that vampires were real.

“He’s one of  _ the _ vampires. The Originals.” The woman explained.

“What do you mean The Originals?” Elena questioned.

“Again with the questions. Haven’t the Salvatores been teaching you your vampire history?”

Ellie was so confused, but it was like Elena had completely forgotten that her sister was standing just behind her. “So you know Stefan and Damon.” Elena replied.

“I know of them. A hundred years back, a friend of mine tried to set me up with Stefan.” The woman replied. It didn’t make any sense. There was no way this woman could have been alive a hundred years ago. Stefan couldn’t have either. Unless they were vampires. Ellie tried to shut the thought down. It didn’t make any sense. The same part of her brain that suggested that vampires might actually be real taunted her with the reminder that witches shouldn’t be real and yet there she stood. “She said he was one of the good ones.” She spoke of the friend fondly. “I’m more of a sucker for the bad boys, though, but I digress.”

“ _ Who _ are The Originals?” Elena demanded as she took a reckless step towards the woman.

The woman finally looked away from the books she was flipping through to stare Elena down. “Trevor and I have been running for five hundred years. We’re tired. We want it over. We’re using the two of you to negotiate ourselves out of an old mess.”

“But why us?” Elena pressed.

“Because the two of you are Petrova doppelgängers. You’re the key to breaking the curse.” The woman told them.

“Curse?” Elena asked in confusion. “The sun and the moon curse?”

“Oh, you do know your history.” The woman said with a roll of her eyes.

“What do you mean  _ I’m _ the key?” Elena pressed. “The moonstone is what breaks the curse.”

“No. The moonstone is what binds the curse. Sacrifice is what breaks it.” The woman said before she shrugged. “And I mean really, either one of you would probably work just fine as the key. It’s why we took you both.”

“Sacrifice?”

“The blood of the doppelgänger. The two of you are doppelgängers. Which means in order to break the curse, one of you will have to die.” The woman explained. She must have noticed the way Ellie looked both horrified and confused and gave her a look that seemed like genuine sympathy. “You really don’t know what’s going on do you?” For the first time since Elena had started pushing for answers, she turned to spare a glance her way. “What? Did your sister leave you in the dark?” At Ellie’s silence, she took that as a confirmation. “She did. Interesting.” 

“I didn’t-” Elena started, but she didn’t seem to know what to say. “That’s not the point.” She turned the conversation back to what she wanted to talk about. “Tell me more.”

“Captivity has made this one pushy, eh?” Trevor asked with a grin. He was far more relaxed than he had been earlier. “What do you want to know, doppelicious?”

“Who are you running from?” Elena asked.

“The Originals.” Trevor said.

“Yeah, she said that. What does that mean?” Elena questioned.

Ellie wanted to fight her for how sassy her tone sounded. “The first family.” Trevor explained as he kicked books across the floor. “The old world… Rose and I pissed ‘em off.” The woman, apparently named Rose, cleared her throat and shot him a look. “Correction, I pissed them off. Rose had my back. And for over half a millenium, they’ve wanted us dead.”

He tossed a book carelessly at Elena’s feet. “What did you do?”

“He made the same mistake countless others did. He trusted Katerina Petrova.” Rose explained.

“Katherine.”

“Mmm, the one and only… the first Petrova Doppelgänger.” Rose confirmed.

Trevor was flipping through one of the books without really reading it as he added, “I helped her escape her fate. And now I’ve… sorry, we’ve… been marked ever since.”

“Which is why we’re not going to make the same mistake again.” Rose said. Although it seemed more like she was reminding him rather than telling them. He dropped the book down onto the table with the others before he turned and followed Rose out of the room.

They were gone for a minute before Elena shrugged and said, “Come on, let’s go back.”

“Elena, seriously what the hell is going on?” Ellie asked. She felt dizzy from all the information getting thrown at her. Whatever was going on, Elena seemed to know enough about it that she was acting more like this was an inconvenience than a life threatening situation.

“I’ll explain later. Just come on.” Elena replied as she took a hold of Ellie’s hand and pulled her back into the room they were first placed in. “Everything’s going to be fine. I promise.”

“Why do you guys keep talking about vampires? Elena, something like that couldn’t possibly exist.” Ellie told her.

“It’s complicated, Ellie. Now just really isn’t the time.” Elena replied as she dropped down onto the couch and tugged Ellie so that she’d do the same. Ellie sat obediently as Elena pulled her feet up. Their attention was caught by the sound of something rustling under Elena’s feet. She lifted her foot to see a crumpled and folded piece of paper. She leaned over to look at it with Elena. On it was Bonnie’s familiar scrawl and it read ‘Stefan and Damon are coming from you -B’.

Elena let out a shaky breath before she quickly crumpled the page before stuffing it into her pocket. The note didn’t particularly fill Ellie with the same hope that it seemed to give Elena. She relaxed, well as much as she could, back into the other side of the couch. Rose dropped a bag between the two of them before stuffing the back with clothes and zipping it up. The twins watched as their kidnappers seemed to almost frantically prepare for this Elijah person. Whoever he was, he seemed to scare them like he was the devil incarnate.

Trevor seemed to be pacing throughout the mansion, worriedly peeking through the slots in what had been put up to block the sunlight. The more he paced, the more nervous Ellie became. If this were literally any other situation, she might have tried to comfort him. But as it were, it seemed odd to comfort someone who had taken her hostage. He’d been gone for a few minutes before Rose grabbed the bag she’d placed between the twins to move it to another chair. Trevor reappeared, nearly running, as he fearfully announced, “He’s here.” Ellie and Elena both shifted in their seats. “This was a mistake.”

“No, I told you I would get us out of this. You have to trust me.” Rose insisted.

“No!” Trevor exclaimed. “He wants me dead, Rose!” Ellie almost felt bad for how genuinely scared he seemed.

“He wants them more.” Rose said forcefully.

“I can’t do this. You give them to him, he’ll have mercy on you, but I need to get out of here.” He said frantically.

Rose grabbed his hands to stop his frantic movements. “Hey, what are we?”

He took slow, deliberate breaths before replying, “We’re family.” Ellie glanced at Elena to see her staring at them with sympathy. “Forever.” Rose smiled at him and Ellie couldn’t describe it in any other way than love. It was clear that the woman was trying her best to keep him calm. There was a sudden pounding on a door somewhere that caused all four of the room’s occupants to flinch at the sound. 

“You’re scared.” Elena said in surprise.

Rose squeezed Trevor’s hands in another attempt to calm him. “Stay here with them.” She instructed. “And don’t make a sound.” Rose quickly rushed up the steps to go answer the door. Trevor, on the other hand, looked like he was about to get very sick as he panted and wiped his sweaty hands against his jeans.

It had only been a minute or so that Rose had been gone before Ellie rose from her seat, too anxious to remain seated. Trevor looked to be on the verge of bolting at the slightest indication that something was going to go wrong. Elena stood up shortly after and she was pacing in tight circles. Ellie was trying her best to keep Elena both in her line of sight and behind her at the same time.

Trevor was the first one to react. He tensed up and Ellie straightened up as she took a cautionary towards Elena. She could hear the clicking of Rose’s shoes approaching and felt her heart doing double time. Rose stepped in first and moved to the side to let a man enter. He was impeccably dressed and wearing a suit that she had no doubt was insanely expensive.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Elena turn to face the man. He rested his hands on the banister for a moment as he stared at them in disbelief. With impossible speed, he moved from the stairs to in front of Ellie. Her breath caught in her throat as she moved to stand so that she blocked Elena from the man. This must be Elijah. Her heart was beating painfully in her chest at his proximity.

She could feel Elena grab her hand in fear. The man, Elijah, wasn’t looking at her, instead he was staring at her neck. When he began leaning in, she froze and refused to move a muscle except for the involuntary movement of tilting her head up slightly. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her neck and she was sure he must be able to see the way her heart was on the verge of beating out of her chest.

Elena was shaking like a leaf behind her and her grip on Ellie’s hand and wrist was nearly crushing. For a brief moment, Elijah stayed in that position so close to her throat before pulling up so suddenly that her heart stopped beating. “Human.” Elijah declared. “It’s impossible.” He looked back down at Ellie and locked eyes with her. “Hello there.” He said to her. “Not only one of them but two. How unexpected.”

“Two doppelgängers, just as I promised.” Rose said, though she spoke very cautiously. He turned to face them and Ellie could see how terrified Trevor was. Despite everything, she couldn’t help but feel sympathy for him.

Elijah took a few steps towards Rose before stopping and Ellie moved as quietly as possible to stand in front of Elena more fully. “Yes. As you promised.” He agreed. He turned backed to the twins and told them, “Well, we have a long journey ahead of us. We should be going.”

“Please, don’t let him take us.” Elena begged as she stepped slightly to the side of Ellie to try and get their original captors to save them. It was useless. She could see how scared they both were. They would not dare defy Elijah. She could see Rose look away from them, guilt written all over her face.

“One last piece of business. Then we’re done.” Elijah assured them. Elena’s begging didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest.

Trevor didn’t seem to be able to meet Elijah’s gaze. “I’ve waited so long for this day, Elijah. I’m truly very sorry.”

“Oh, no, your apology is not necessary.” Elijah dismissed. He now stood slightly behind Trevor, but the other man didn’t move an inch.

“Yes. Yes it is.” Trevor insisted. “You trusted me with Katerina and I failed you.” 

Elijah was circling around Trevor and as he came around the front of the other man, he agreed, “Well, yes, you are the guilty one. And Rose aided you because she was loyal to you. That, I honor. Where was your loyalty?”

“I beg your forgiveness.” Trevor said as opposed to answering Elijah’s question.

“So granted.” Elijah said easily. Just as Trevor began to smile, Elijah raised a hand and Ellie’s mind couldn’t process how one minute Trevor was standing there and the next, his head was rolling away from his body.

Rose let out a horrified and pained scream as she nearly collapsed against the bannister. Ellie could feel the pressure in her chest. She wanted nothing more to scream, but no sound came out. Elena reached out to really hold onto Ellie and the young witch did as best as she could to pull Elena against her so that her sister couldn’t see the horrific sight. “You!” Rose’s voice was distorted with pain.

“Don’t, Rose…” He warned her casually as he fixed his sleeve. “Now that you are free.” Rose was trying her best not to sob, but she couldn’t keep all the broken sounds from escaping. “Come.” He demanded of the twins, his force taking on a more forceful tone.

“No, what about the moonstone?” Elena asked in a panic as she flinched away from him.

He paused as he stared Elena down. “What do you know about the moonstone?” He asked her seriously.

“I know that you need it, and I know where it is.” Elena told him.

“Yes.” Elijah seemed pleased by her confession, as if she were being more useful than she realized.

“I can help you get it.” She promised.

“Tell me where it is.”

“It doesn’t work that way.” Elena told him and Ellie dug her nails into the flesh of Elena’s hand in warning.

She could see the way his jaw ticked and knew that Elena was treading on very thin ice. “Are you negotiating with me?” He questioned.

He crossed his arms and spared a glance back at Rose. The woman glared hatefully at him through tear-filled eyes. “It’s the first I’ve heard of it.” She said.

When he turned back to the twins, it seemed to be the first time that he glanced down at their necklaces. “What is this vervain doing around your necks?” He asked before he snatched the necklace off of Ellie and threw it behind him, before taking Elena’s more aggressively. He easily pushed Ellie out of his way and grabbed Elena by the back of her head, forcing her towards him.

“No!” Ellie yelped and she latched onto his arm in desperation. “Please let her go.” She begged, but no matter how hard she pulled he didn’t budge in the slightest.

“Once she tells me what I want to know, I’ll let her go.” He told her simply. But it was hard to focus when all she could see was how terrified Elena was. His gaze shifted back to Elena. “Now, tell me where the moonstone is.”

Elena stopped fighting against him and Ellie could see Elena was staring blankly back at Elijah. “In the tomb underneath the church ruins.” She replied obediently.

“What is it doing there?”

“It’s with Katherine.”

“Interesting.” He replied. Any further questions he may have had were cut off by the sound of glass shattering somewhere in the distance. He released Elena and Ellie didn’t hesitate to place herself between the two of them again. “What is that?”

“I don’t know.” Rose told him.

He kept looking around trying to find the cause. “Who else is in this house?” Elijah asked her.

“I don’t know.” Rose repeated. He took a glance back at the twins before snatching Ellie’s arm. She didn’t fight him. He hadn’t budged when she was trying to save Elena. If she tried to break herself free from his grip, she would more than likely only hurt herself or put Elena at a higher risk. He forced her to start walking before he grabbed Elena with his free hand.

“Move!” He demanded as he rushed them up the steps. They came to stand in front of a larger staircase and when something rushed behind them at unnatural speeds, she unintentionally flinched towards Elijah. He released them both and pushed them towards Rose who caught them. “Rose.”

“I don’t know who it is!” She told him immediately. Ellie’s mind pushed the image of Bonnie’s note to the front of her mind. Was it Stefan and Damon? Someone rushed between where the girls were and where Elijah was and they all turned to follow the movement.

“Up here.” Someone called. Ellie’s brain made the connection that it was Stefan a split second later. Elijah was up the steps in an instant.

“Down here.” Someone, Damon, called. A moment later there was the sound of something similar to the sound made by those machines that spit at balls in the batting range. Ellie watched as Elijah jerked slightly before she realized that what looked like a thin stake had been shot through his hand. She would have watched him pull it out if it wasn’t for the fact that everything around her turned into a blur. One second she had been standing in the middle of that room, the next she was pressed between a wall and Rose as Damon forced a hand over both of their mouths. 

“Excuse me?” Elijah spoke out. “To whom it may concern, you’re making a great mistake if you think that you can beat me. You can’t.” Damon pushed his hand against her mouth a little more to make sure she was silent. “You hear that? I repeat… you cannot beat me.” There was the sound of something breaking off as Damon very slowly released his hold he’d had on her mouth. “So I want the girls on the count of three or heads will roll.” It sounded like more things were getting broken before he asked, “Do we understand each other?” 

“I’ll come with you.” Elena said and Ellie’s eyes shot wide at the sound. Rose didn’t hesitate to hold her in place and cover her mouth so that they wouldn’t be found. “Just please don’t hurt my friends. They just wanted to help me out.”

She heard Elena gasp but she forced herself to stay still before tapping on Rose’s arm to be released. The other woman did so hesitantly. “What game are you playing with me?” Elijah asked but it was hard to hear. There was a pause, and then the sound of something shattering like glass. Elijah’s pained screams followed after that. A series of gunshots rang out and heavy thuds as Ellie yanked off her heels. If she needed to run for her life the heels would just make it harder.

Not knowing what else to do, Ellie hid in a small closet near where she’d been and prayed to god or whoever could hear her to keep Elena safe. Finally, finally, it was silent. Whether that was a good thing or a bad one, she didn’t know. “Just let her go.” Elena called to someone and Ellie felt the pressure on her heart ease up. At the very least, as least she knew Elena was still alive.

“Hey, come here. Are you hurt? You ok?” Stefan spoke. His voice echoed in the relatively empty space.

* * *

It had been quiet for quite a while before Ellie carefully opened the door. She was met with silence. Not too far from where she was, she could see her discarded shoes in the same place she left them. She tried to see where Elena might’ve been, but saw no one. Ellie silently searched around to try and see where they were if they were inside or outside, but they were gone. “Did they leave me?” She muttered to herself as she crept back to where she’d been before and she did her best to not vomit at the sight of Trevor’s decapitated body.

When she reentered the room where she’d last been with Elena, a horrified scream ripped from her throat at the sight of Elijah pinned to the door with a coat rack rammed through his chest. His body was unmoving and she couldn’t help but go closer. To her shock, he was unnaturally grey with veins more prominent than they would ever naturally be. Why did he look like that? Was he dead? He looked dead.

She thought her situation through as she backed away from him. Rose had made it clear that they were in the middle of nowhere, nothing around for miles. The young witch had absolutely no clue where she was. She also didn’t have her phone, which meant she had basically no way to get into contact with anyone to help her. It was also going to get dark soon. She could already see the sky beginning to turn slightly orange which meant if she even tried to walk the distance to get help, it would be dark before she got anywhere and she could end up lost or attacked by animals.

The situation looked bleak. That much she could admit. Not knowing what else to do, she took a seat on the steps. It would be more comfortable on the couch, but she couldn’t bear to be in the same room with Trevor’s body. It seemed like the events of the day were taking a toll on her with the way her eyes demanded to be closed. Well, if she had nothing else to do but to wait for someone to remember that she’d been with Elena and to come back to get her, it wouldn’t hurt to close her eyes for a moment.

She forced her eyes to open back up, only to startle when she saw how far the sun had gone down. Clearly, she’d closed her eyes for a bit more than a moment. Ellie had been looking up at the window above where Elijah's body was pinned when she thought that she saw him move. Her mind dismissed it as impossible. When he continued to move, she looked down and screamed once again when she saw him staring at her as his skin returned to his normal shade.

“Oh my god!” She yelped as she scrambled to her feet. All signs of exhaustion she’d felt moments before were gone. He wrapped his hands around the wood buried in his chest and she let out a panicked shout of, “Oh fuck!” She didn’t think about anything other than getting very far away from him as she ran as fast as she could up the stairs.

“It is not smart to run.” He warned her. His tone was like ice and she didn’t dare to turn around. She made it up the stairs and down the hall before she felt the air shift and he grabbed her roughly. In her panic, it felt like her magic exploded from inside her before a burst of energy threw Elijah away from her. She barely registered the look of surprise on his face before she turned and ran into the first room she could reach. She slammed the door shut and did the locks before backing away. “You should know that it won’t be enough to keep me out, little witch.” He warned.

Ellie didn’t reply. Instead, she focused all of her energy and magic on the door to keep her safe. The door shook on its hinges as he kicked it and she backed farther from it. Again and again he kicked it, but the door held up and Ellie thanked whoever was listening. Elijah was relentless, however, and she was beginning to tire. Too much had happened and she couldn’t hold out much longer. “Please.” She begged when she saw the first crack in the door. Within seconds, he had the door kicked in and was on her. “Please, don’t hurt me. Please, please, please.” 

She was shaking. This was how she was going to die. She knew it. “Now why would I do that little witch?” He asked her calmly, as if he hadn’t just chased her through the house and kicked down a door to get to her. “Now, Rose said there were two, which one are you?” She just looked at him in disbelief. “Your name. What is it?”

“Ellie.” She told him as she tried to stop shaking in his hold.

“Ellie.” He repeated. “Is that a nickname? What is it short for?”

Despite her confusion as to why he cared, if it meant he wasn’t trying to kill her then it was better to try and stay on his good side. “Eleanor. Ellie is short for Eleanor.”

“Hmm, lovely name. Now, Eleanor, if I release you, are you going to be so foolish as to try and run again?” Elijah asked her. She shook her head quickly and he gave her a satisfied smile. “Wise decision.” He released her instantly and she was surprised that he arms didn’t ache from the hold he’d had on her. “Rose did not inform me that one of the doppelgängers was a witch.” 

It seemed like he spoke more to himself than to her, but she felt the need to defend herself. “She didn’t know.” She said softly. He turned back towards her with a curious look and so she repeated, “She didn’t know. No one knows I’m a witch.”

“Interesting. You were involved with vampires, and yet you didn't disclose the nature of your abilities.” He commented and she must have given off some sort of signal that something was off. “What? Your sister was entirely aware of vampires and knows at least two that she’s friends with. Do you mean to tell me that until today you were unaware of the existence of other supernatural creatures other than yourself?”

He seemed very calm, but she was still a bit wary of him. “I knew of other witches. I hadn’t really considered the possibility that things like vampires were real. It just doesn’t seem logical.” She confessed.

“But being a witch does?” He questioned. “How is it that your sister doesn’t know what you are?”

“I’ve kept it a secret. I was told it wasn’t safe to tell her.” 

“Told by who?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She replied, sharper than she’d intended to. Ellie shrunk away from him slightly before she added, “They died. So it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“My condolences.” Elijah replied and it seemed relatively sincere. “It seems we have a predicament here, Eleanor. I still need a doppelgänger, and it seems that they have so conveniently left you behind.” She could feel her heart as it started to hammer another panicked beat before he held up his hand. “Calm down. I’m not going to kill you. No, I need you alive for now.”

The ‘for now’ made her want to throw up. “I don’t want to die.” She didn’t mean to say it out loud, but she did and he heard it.

The look of sympathy he gave her was more genuine than before and he placed a gentle hand on her cheek. “I understand. Maybe you don’t have to. There’s two of you, it doesn’t have to be you.”

Her hands flew up to grab a hold of his wrist. “I won’t let Elena die when I could save her.” Her voice was fierce, the strongest it had been since they’d met.

It seemed to entertain him. “Your dedication to protect your sister is very admirable. It is very loyal of you. But where was her loyalty when she left you here with me? Where was her loyalty when your life was in danger and yet she still left you clueless to the things that go bump in the night?” It felt like a punch to the gut. In her fear over trying to not be killed by the dangerous man before her, she’d momentarily forgotten what had happened.

“I…”

“Perhaps there is a chance that neither you nor your sister have to die. It may be within my abilities to protect you both. However, if I’m going to do that, I’m going to need your assistance.” He explained. She felt like she was Eve in the Garden of Eden, because this very much felt like making a deal with the devil.

Even if she was making a deal with the devil, could she really run the risk of what could happen if she didn’t? If she didn’t, it was basically guaranteed that either she would die or Elena would. Hell, they might both end up dead. At least, if she agreed, she had a shot at saving their lives. “I still don’t know anything about what’s going on.” Ellie told him. It was neither a yes nor a no.

“I will explain it all to you. I will answer your questions to the best of my ability. I will even do what I can to help you improve your craft since you lost the teacher you had.” Elijah promised.

“How could you do that?”

He laughed lightly at the question. “Trust me, I have my ways. Now, do we have a deal? Your assistance for mine in return, as well as doing everything within my power to keep you and your sister alive.”

“What do you mean by my assistance? I don’t want to hurt anyone.” She told him.

“I wouldn’t make you. Your assistance mostly just comes from your cooperation. If I need you to do some digging, then you dig. If I want to find you, you don’t run from me or try to hide. I have no intentions of making you do something that goes against your morals.” Elijah assured her. 

Jeremy’s smiling face appeared in her mind along with Jenna’s. “I don’t want any of my family or my friends getting hurt because of this. As far as I know they aren’t involved. My family has lost enough and I will not be responsible for hurting them any more.” She insisted.

“Of course. You have my word that none of your friends or family will come to any harm. Do I have your word?” Elijah inquired. 

It seemed like as good of a deal as she could possibly get. Her friends and family were protected. She and Elena were protected. He would even help her with her magic. Elijah even said that he wouldn’t force her to do anything she didn’t agree with. He was being very generous and they both knew it. He offered up his hand for her to shake. After one last moment of hesitation, she placed her hand in his. “You have my word.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god we've finally gotten to Ellie and Elijah's first meeting. I've been waiting for this since chapter one! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts or if you have any questions.
> 
> Posted: 8/15/20


	28. Katerina

Chapter 28: Katerina

_March 25, 2010_

After she made the deal with Elijah, he explained the origins of vampires. As it turned out, all vampires were created from the first line of vampires, a family, The Originals. He explained that vampires weren’t like their fictional counterparts in most aspects. They could see their reflection and be in pictures as well as eat garlic and go into churches and holy water was useless. They did however, die from decapitation or being burned to death or having their heart ripped out or if they were staked through the heart with a wooden stake. Being out in the sun could also kill them, and at the very least would cause them harm. A plant called vervain was also insanely toxic to vampires.

The description of how they could be killed wasn’t a pleasant thing to imagine. When she asked why the coat rack through the chest didn’t do him in, he laughed and merely stated that it was a perk of being an Original. When she asked how it was possible that he walked in the sun, he explained that there was a special stone called Lapis Lazuli that, when spelled by a witch, would protect them from the sun so long as they wore it. He showed her the ring he wore and it reminded her very much of the family rings that Stefan and Damon wore.

He explained about the sun and moon curse when asked about it and that led to the revelation about werewolves also being real. Elijah told her all about them, including how they were nearly extinct and the wolfsbane would cause them harm in the same way vervain would hurt a vampire. She felt overwhelmed by the time Elijah ended it. Ellie had been frustrated, but also grateful and he assured her that she could ask another time.

It would be late at night by the time she arrived home. To avoid suspicion, they decided that it would appear that she had been compelled to believe that she’d spent the day hungover in the woods near the Lockwood house and had been too out of it when she was conscious to come home. He carefully dropped her off far enough from her house that he wouldn’t be seen and it gave her time to mess up her hair to make it look a bit more believable. 

She arrived home insanely late, and thankfully Jenna hadn’t been home. The moment she’d walked through the door, Elena had all but thrown herself at her sister in relief. Elena questioned her, but she played her part well. If not from her own experiences, she’d seen Jeremy wasted enough to know how to make it seem realistic. Her brother had seemed worried but she just pinched his cheek before nearly falling down the stairs. It had been enough to make her siblings really believe it.

Elena had left the house early and surprisingly, Jeremy did too, which gave her the perfect opportunity to snoop. It wasn’t hard to find where Elena had hidden her diary, although she had changed it’s hiding spot. She read the diary at an alarming speed, starting from the day they met Stefan Salvatore. Elena learning of vampires had been a progression. She’d put it together in bits and pieces before she confronted Stefan about it.

It brought back the memory of sitting on Elena’s bed with her and Bonnie as the girl revealed her secret to the twins. Elena had said that it wasn’t a good week to make her promise anything. She’d been talking about finding out about Stefan. Then Vicki… god Vicki had been a vampire and died because of it. The way Elena wrote suggested that Damon had turned her. Vicki was dead because of Damon. How could Elena have known the entire time that they thought Vicki was missing that she was actually dead and she couldn’t even be bothered to tell anyone?

She kept reading and it felt like she was a punching bag and the secrets Elena had kept were hits from a professional boxer. Despite being overwhelmed, she read every page. There were only two times she really stopped. One was when she read Elena’s entry about what happened to Caroline. Her beautiful best friend had been murdered in her hospital bed and turned by Katherine, just to get a message to the Salvatores. Caroline was a vampire. Caroline had _died_ and Ellie didn’t even notice. That surely won her the prize for being the world’s crappiest friend.

But the other… Damon killed Jeremy. He snapped his neck like it was nothing. He did it for the sheer fact that he was having a temper tantrum and if Jeremy hadn’t been wearing the magic ring that John had given him, Jeremy would be dead right now. The fact that she’d come so close to losing him… The fact that she had in fact lost him, if only for a few minutes, made her want to scream. How had Elena watched as their brother got murdered and then did nothing? If Ellie saw him any time soon, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep from murdering him on the spot. He was responsible for the deaths of two of the people most important to her.

To make matters even worse than they already were, Elena had gotten Damon to compel Jeremy. It was the same mind control trick that Elijah had used on Elena. She got Damon to erase Jeremy’s memories, to make him forget his hurt. That explained Jeremy’s total one eighty that he had done. It explained why he had seemed bizarrely alright after Vicki had died. Elena had absolutely no right to control Jeremy’s mind the way that she had and it made Ellie want to scream.

Not only that, but apparently Mason was a werewolf and being a werewolf ran in the Lockwood family. From what Elena wrote, to become a werewolf, someone had to have the gene and kill someone to activate it. They found out he’d been working for Katherine and he’d also tried to get Stefan and Damon killed. So instead, Damon killed him. Ellie could see Tyler so clearly in her mind. He had been upset that Mason had just disappeared. How could she see him and not tell him the truth? How had Elena been able to look at him and not feel guilty?

Once she finished pages, she hastily put the diary back in its place before rushing to get out the door and get to school. Her drive was filled with an unexpected amount of danger. Every single time Elena had been shady, every lie she told, she had put everyone else in danger. People had _died_ because of it. Not everyone got the chance to come back like Jeremy and Caroline had. Anna didn’t get that chance, nor did her mother. They hadn’t been best friends, but she’d cared about the girl, especially since she was important to Jeremy.

When she arrived at school, she prayed to whoever was listening that she wouldn’t see any of them because she definitely did not have her emotions in check. “Hey, excuse me.” An unfamiliar boy grabbed her attention as he approached her. “Do you know which way’s the office?”

“Uh yeah, you go through those double doors right there, go straight and take the first left, and then your first right. Are you new here?” Ellie asked him. He was a good distraction to reign in her emotions before something bad happened.

“Yeah, I am. I can’t really hide it. My name’s Luka.” He introduced himself. “I got those same directions earlier from another guy, but I think I went through the wrong double doors.” Luka explained with a small laugh.

“Ah, I see. Don’t worry, happens to the best of us. I’ll walk you over there. My name’s Ellie by the way.” Ellie said as she offered her hand for him to shake. When he did, it felt like static shock ran all the way up her arm and her eyes snapped up to his in surprise. He was grinning knowingly. “What-”

He gave her another bright smile. “Elijah told you he had his ways didn’t he?” Luka questioned. “Don’t worry, I’m really here as a student, and I mean no harm. I promise. I wouldn’t have made myself known if I did.”

Luka seemed to be telling the truth, and so she let herself relax. “That makes sense. I’ve just had a lot of bombs dropped on me at once and I just feel…”

“Like you were one of the unlucky passengers on the Titanic?” He offered.

“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.” She agreed. He had an air of ease about him and it helped to ease her nerves. “Well, that’s part of the reason I’m here. He mentioned that you had just the supernatural bomb dropped on you last night, and that you weren’t aware of anything other than witches. He also mentioned that you lost your teacher. I’m very sorry for your loss.” He seemed completely honest when he said it and for a moment she felt the flicker of pain at Miss Sheila’s death. Another death caused by Damon Salvatore.

He had somehow managed to get it so that her arm was wrapped around his and he gave her a reassuring squeeze when her expression changed. “We weren’t related, but she was like family to me. She died doing a hard spell, and ever since I found out, I just feel like if I’d been there, maybe I would have been enough backup and she wouldn’t have died.” It was the first time she’d confessed it out loud.

“You can’t think like that. If she didn’t involve you, then it was probably to protect you. If you had been in her spot, and you could risk your life or someone else’s, what would you do?” Her silence was telling. “Exactly. She did it because she cared. It would be a disservice to her memory if you let guilt eat away at you when you have nothing to feel guilty for.” Luka insisted.

It was how truly sincere he seemed that caused her to nod in agreement. “Ok, middle of the hallway is not the place to get emotional, so come on, let me actually show you to the office.” Ellie said as she shook her head to try and get herself together.

“Of course.” He agreed easily and they switched to safer, and more school appropriate topics. “If I’m lucky, you’ll be good at English. Not my best subject.” The tears that had threatened to fall vanished as she started to laugh.

* * *

The school day went by smoothly. Neither Caroline nor Bonnie had really spoken to her. She wasn’t sure what Bonnie’s deal was, but Caroline had seemed oddly focused on Stefan. At every sign of the vampire, Ellie tried to get as far away from him as possible. Luka had made sure that the two of them exchanged numbers before promising that he would introduce her to his dad soon since the older man had far more experience with being a witch.

It seemed that she was the first one home. She walked through the house as thoughts swirled around in her mind. Everything happened because Stefan and Damon came to town. Elena’s diary told her that they came to town because Elena looked like Katherine, who had turned Damon and Stefan in 1864 right here in Mystic Falls. Everything seemed to start because of Katherine’s influence, whether it was what the vampire intended or not. 

One thing that Ellie knew for sure was that she wanted to know more about Katherine. Because, at one point, she had just been a regular girl. If Rose and Trevor had been on the run for five hundred years because they helped Katherine escape her fate, then that placed Katherine at somewhere over five hundred years old herself. Ellie couldn’t even imagine what it must have been like to be a teenager in the 1500s.

She had headed to the kitchen to get a drink before a knock on the door interrupted those plans. “I’m coming!” Ellie called out to whoever was at the door. The last person she’d expected to see on her porch was Elijah, yet there he was. “How did you know where I lived?”

“When I have someone that I’m supposed to be protecting, then I do, in fact, protect them. I made sure that you arrived home safely before I departed.” Elijah explained. “May I come in?”

“Would you be mad if I said no?” Ellie asked before stepping out onto the porch with him. “It’s nothing against you, really. I just want to try and limit the amount of vampires with access to this house. Plus, I don’t want to worry about accidentally making you mad and you killing me and everyone else in the house while we sleep.”

Elijah nodded as he stepped away. “I felt it was probably wise to check in. You are of no use to me if you are too overwhelmed.” Elijah told her. “I assume you met Luka today.”

“I did. He seems pretty nice.” She commented.

“He and his father are good people.” He agreed. “You have a question. Ask it.”

She supposed that with having five hundred and however many years that he’d been alive as experience on reading people that she was probably easy to read. “I want to know more about Katherine, Katerina, whatever her name is. Everyone makes it sound like all of this is happening because of her. I guess I can’t help but be curious.” Ellie confessed.

“Katerina is not to blame for you and your sister being in the position that you are currently in. Not really. Yes, if she had completed the sacrifice then there would be no need for you, but that’s more correlation rather than causation.” He said. “Klaus is the one that wants to complete the ritual. He found Katerina in 1492 and she fled before he could sacrifice her. When we first met Katerina, she was just a girl who had just arrived in England.”

“So what’s so important about Elena, Katherine, and I being doppelgängers? What’s it have to do with anything?" 

“The curse was bound by the blood of a Petrova, at least, what would become the Petrova line. Surely you know that certain spells have very specific requirements. The blood of a Petrova doppelgänger is simply one of the requirements.” Elijah said as he moved to sit on the porch swing.

Ellie contemplated it. That made sense. “So, if that’s the case, and Elena and I look exactly like Katherine, does that mean that all three of us look exactly like the girl that was used to bind the curse in the first place?”

He nodded in confirmation. “You’re very quick to pick up on things.” He complimented. “When Katerina escaped, she only managed it because Trevor aided her. We would have found her had he not led us astray. Because of his assistance, she was able to turn into a vampire and escape Klaus. It was what put a mark on the heads of Trevor and Rose.” The mention of the now very dead vampire made her wince. The sight of his headless body was still burned into her brain.

She tried to put herself in the other girl’s shoes. If it meant saving her life or someone else’s that she loved, could she potentially sentence someone else to death? She didn’t want anyone to die because of her, but… it made her head hurt to think about it. The situation really made her feel like she was treading a thin line. “You said Klaus was the one that wanted to break the curse. Does that mean you don’t?”

“I might have at one point. Now, I am no longer sure it’s wise.” Elijah said before glancing down at his watch. “My apologies for having to cut this short, but I have an appointment I must attend. If you have any other questions, Luka and his father will do their best to assist you. If something comes up that they do not have the resources for, they know how to get in touch with me.” He was gone before she even had a chance to say goodbye.

She didn’t dwell on his sudden appearance and disappearance for long. Instead, her thoughts kept traveling back to the thoughts of a young girl, absolutely scared to death in a foreign land with a dangerous man wanting nothing more than to kill her to get what he wanted. Whether Katherine was a decent person now didn’t really matter much. Even if she had been a bad person when she was human, she didn’t deserve to get sacrificed. 

Elena had also told Elijah that Katherine was in the tombs under the old church. She could… no… surely that was a bad idea. But she was a witch, and she had been strong enough to hold Elijah off for a bit when she’d been exhausted. She hadn’t been trying to hurt him either, it had just been an attempt to keep him out. The rational part of her screamed that it was a bad idea.

She elected to ignore it.

Rather than listening to it, she grabbed a few things before heading back out to her car. She knew where Elena was talking about. It wasn’t far from the place that Duke had had that party a while back. She drove quickly before her nerves, or maybe just her common sense, could convince her to back out. The sight of Duke’s party was easy to find with the way the ground was still scorched from the large fire that had been going that night. She considered which way to go and let her instincts guide her.

When she found herself heading in the same direction that Elena and Damon had gone that night, she figured that she was going in the right direction. She walked carefully as she searched for the entrance. The last thing she needed was to fall in and break an ankle. It took a couple minutes, but she managed to find a hole in the ground with a set of stairs. Ellie walked down it carefully and she could feel the magic radiating around the room. “Back so soon?” A familiar voice called. She sounded exactly like Elena. 

A figure strolled towards the entrance. The last thing Ellie had been expecting was to see her double wearing the dress that Elena had worn to the masquerade. “What-” Unless it hadn’t been Elena.

Katherine smiled at her as she leaned against the wall. “Well, well, well, I didn’t expect to see you here.” She confessed. “Because last I checked you were clueless as to what was going on. But I have gotten _really_ good at being Elena if I do say so myself. I pretended to be your twin and you didn’t even realize.” She tilted her head and quirked up an eyebrow as she appraised Ellie. “So, what brings you here?”

“You do.” Ellie told her simply. “And, to be fair, it’s not like I knew that there was someone else identical to me and Elena that could potentially be impersonating her.” If she thought about it, why would Katherine remain here in a dress from days ago, unless she was trapped.

“Alright, I’ll bite. Why have I brought you here?” Katherine questioned as she slunk down to sit. Ellie went closer, but didn’t pass into the opening since it seemed the most logical place to put a boundary spell on. She’d read about several of them in the grimoires Miss Sheila had given her.

Ellie took a seat as well and faced the vampire. Really, she had no reason to not tell the other girl the truth. So she did. “Everything vampire related started happening the moment Stefan and Damon rolled back into town. They came back because Elena and I looked like you, because you turned them in 1864. This stupid curse sacrifice crap is happening to us now because you weren’t killed five hundred and whatever years ago. I guess I was curious about you.” Ellie confessed.

“Curious about me?” Katherine scoffed. “Alright, ask away. I like you better than Elena anyways. She’s boring.”

“I want to know about Klaus and what happened when you met.” Ellie told her.

Katherine didn’t mask her surprise. “You know far more than I expected of you.” Katherine told her. “I’m not caught off guard often, you should be proud of yourself.” Ellie watched as Katherine cracked her neck before she seemed to shift to get more comfortable. “But since you asked so nicely, I’ll tell you.” The witch must have had a look of disbelief because Katherine added, “That and Elena didn’t tell you anything and it brings me joy to spite her.”

“Good enough for me.” Ellie said. As long as she was getting answers, she didn’t care what Katherine’s reasons were for telling her.

“The story of Klaus and I goes back more than five hundred years. It was 1492 to be specific. It was in England, after I left Bulgaria… or, was thrown out.”

“Thrown out?” Ellie questioned. “Why?”

“My family, the true ancestors of you and Elena, they disowned me.” Katherine confessed. “My indiscretions were not tolerated at that time. I had a baby out of wedlock. The _shame_.”

Ellie nodded along. “And they kept it secret to keep the family reputation.” It was more a statement than a question.

“Mmhmm.” Katherine confirmed. “My baby was given away. I was banished to England, and I had to learn to adjust. So I quickly became English.” Ellie could admit that she was impressed at how effortlessly the vampire took on a flawless British accent. “It was there that I caught the eye of a nobleman named Klaus. I was taken with him at first, until I found out what he was and what he wanted from me and then I ran like hell.”

“What exactly did Klaus want?” Ellie questioned. There were others that she wanted answers to but it was better to take it one at a time.

“Same thing that he’s gonna want from either you or Elena. He wants to break the curse.” Katherine told her.

“By sacrificing a Petrova Doppelgänger.” Ellie added.

“He wanted to drain every single drop of blood from my body.” Katherine said.

Ellie fiddled with the laces of her shoes as she put what Katherine had said with what Elijah had told her. “He needed a Petrova because Petrova blood was what the curse was bound with.”

The vampire nodded. “The doppelgänger was created as a way to be able to undo the spell. Once the doppelgänger reappears, the curse can be broken.”

“So you ran before he got the chance.” 

Katherine made a face. “Something like that. When I ran, I took the moonstone and with Trevor’s help, I made it to a cottage in the woods where his friend, Rose, was staying with a human to protect them from other vampires. She didn’t want to help me. She was terrified of Klaus and swore that she would take me back to him at nightfall and beg him for mercy.”

“But that didn’t happen did it?” Ellie asked, although the answer wasn’t hard to guess.

“No. But not because she had a change of heart.” Katherine said and if Ellie wasn’t wrong, Katherine sounded a little bitter about it. “She’d had the woman give me water and something to eat. When the woman did just that, she’d also given me a knife. So, I cut a gash into my side. At nightfall, when Rose was preparing to take me back, she noticed it after I had been bleeding for a while. I told her I would rather die than go back to Klaus.”

“I can’t imagine she liked that.” Ellie commented.

“She didn’t. I would have died by the time she got me back to Klaus from blood loss, so she fed me her blood to heal me. She had been preparing to bind my hands so that I couldn’t try to run when Trevor arrived. She made the mistake of leaving the rope in the room with me. I couldn’t go back to Klaus, so I did what I had to do.” Katherine explained.

Ellie’s breath caught in her throat in surprise. “You killed yourself?” 

“Klaus needed a _human_ doppelgänger. As a vampire, I was no longer of any use to him.” 

“But did you really escape? From what I know, you’ve had to be on the run ever since.” Ellie asked her.

Katherine shrugged. “I underestimated his spirit for vengeance. But living out of a suitcase is better than dying so that you could have your blood spilled over some silly little rock. Of course, your sister made it clear how much of a ‘horrible person’ I was for using them.” Katherine rolled her eyes at the statement.

“You weren’t.” Ellie told her.

“What makes you say that?” Katherine asked sarcastically.

The young witch shrugged. “I can’t talk about you now because I don’t know you. But from what you’ve told me and from what I’ve heard, you as a human were just trying to survive. Yeah, it’s awful what happened to Trevor and Rose, but what else were you supposed to do? Let yourself get murdered?” Ellie questioned. “How could I sit here and tell you that you were a bad person when I’m not sure I would have made another decision.”

“Well, at least you're honest.” Katherine commented. “It was nothing personal against either of them. I just didn’t want to die.”

“Most people don’t want to die.” Ellie insisted before asking, “How badly did you underestimate him? It’s got to be more than just hunting you.” 

Katherine didn’t say anything for a moment. She looked at something farther back in the cave and Ellie thought she could faintly see the outline of a book laying back there. “I severely underestimated him. After I turned, I made my way back to Bulgaria. When I made it back to my family, I found them slaughtered. My father had been pinned to the wall with a sword through his chest. My mother was dropped across the bed with my sister sitting on the floor next to her.” The vampire flexed her fingers. “My sister was twelve years old.”

Five hundred years later and Katherine was still hurting over that loss. That much was clear. It wasn’t surprising though. No matter who she was now, she had just been a young girl trying to survive. “I’m so sorry.” Ellie told her sincerely. Katherine turned to look at her once more. “I don’t think I would have been able to survive something like that. I’m sorry that you had to go through it.”

“Nothing I can do about it now.” Katherine said uncaringly. Ellie didn’t believe her nonchalance for a second.

Ellie didn’t comment further on it. Instead, she took a moment to process all the information that she had been told. The curse of the sun and the moon, as Luka had hastily explained at lunch, was a curse placed on both vampires and werewolves. Vampires break the curse and they can walk in the sun freely. Werewolves break the curse and they can turn at will instead of just on the full moon. “But a spell that’s this old and no one’s broken it, means there’s more to it than a doppelgänger and moonstone isn’t there?”

“Mmhmm.” Katherine confirmed.

She thought through what Katherine had done since she’d arrived back in Mystic Falls. “So what else does it need?” Ellie asked. Mason came back to town trying to find the moonstone. But he was a werewolf. Why would she help a werewolf? “You needed a werewolf. That’s why you were involved with Mason, isn’t it?”

“Smart girl. Believe it or not, werewolves are hard to come by.”

“If you needed a werewolf, then you needed a vampire too.” Ellie deduced. “That’s why you turned Caroline.”

“Really, I could have turned anyone, but I figured that Caroline would send a stronger message. I like the poetry of Caroline.” Katherine confessed. She didn’t seem to really feel guilty about it.

But if she needed a werewolf… “But Mason was killed by Damon. Which means you need another werewolf.” Ellie said more to herself than to Katherine, but with the other girl’s super hearing, she caught it easily.

“I already have one. It’s just oh so convenient that there was another Lockwood boy around.” Katherine explained as she examined her nails. “And it was so very easy to stage an accident. Those Lockwood men, they have such strong tempers.” 

If Katherine had been at the masquerade ball... If she had staged an accident… “Tyler.” Ellie said in shock. “Oh my god, Sarah.” She’d seen Sarah's body and how upset Tyler had been. He’d given the moonstone to Mason. Was it possible that he’d known what would happen if he killed someone?

“What else did you need?”

“A witch. I had one, but she bailed. Little Bonnie will do just fine though. Bennett witches are always a good choice.” Katherine said.

“God.” Ellie muttered under her breath.

“I’ve run from Klaus for five hundred years. I figured maybe after all this time, he might be willing to strike a deal.” Katherine told her. “The more I could give him, the more forgiving he might be.” Ellie hated that she understood her reasoning. She didn’t like it and she definitely didn’t agree with it. But she understood it. “If Klaus comes and anyone tries to run, he will hunt them down until he finds them. He is not a very forgiving man. Whatever you do to escape, he will get vengeance. There’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

She sounded entirely serious. “He’s going to kill us all.”

“If you run, yes. Maybe some of you will survive if you do what he wants.” Katherine told her. “In the end, no matter how long it takes, he will get what he wants.” She picked up a large book and started flipping through it. Ellie remained silent, not knowing what else to say. The past two days had been such an information overload and she needed a minute to catch her breath. So she watched the vampire before her.

Katherine was scanning over the pages of the book she’d gone to get as mixed emotions danced across her features. She turned the page once more and stopped. Ellie watched as her eyes went wide and delicately took a hold of a drawing. From what Ellie could see, the drawing was three different faces. A man and a woman were drawn on the upper half of the page and a younger girl was drawn in between the two on the lower half of the page. Were they Katherine’s family?

It seemed like Katherine had forgotten she was there entirely. The vampire’s eyes watered slightly as she caressed the drawing of the older woman. It was painful to see her look so upset. How could it not when it felt like looking at Elena when she was upset? She completely forgot about the boundary spell as she reached over to squeeze Katherine’s forearm. “I’m sorry for what happened to them.” She knew she’d already told her, but it felt necessary to say it again.

“Thank you.” Katherine replied as she stared at Ellie’s grip.

“What is that?” Ellie questioned as she nodded her head at the book.

“It’s my family’s Bible.” Katherine said as she closed the book to reveal the name ‘Petrova’ etched in gold on the side. The book was worn from the centuries but it looked like it had been an expensive book in it’s time. “I haven’t seen it since I left Bulgaria.”

“How did you get it back then?” Ellie questioned as she released the grip she had on Katherine.

“Elena.” Katherine confessed as she set the book aside again. “She brought it in and thought it would be an effective bribe for me to tell her what she wanted to know.”

So that was why she’d made the comment about being back so soon, Elena had been there earlier. But the mention of being bribed by Elena reminded Ellie of the bag she’d brought. “Oh, that reminds me.” Ellie said as she pulled her bag closer to her and started opening it. She pulled out a thick blanket and placed it in her hand along with a pillow before bringing out a couple books and some snacks. “These are for you.” Ellie said as she passed them through the barrier. “I don’t really know if vampires are affected by the cold and stuff, but either way it can’t be comfortable to be stuck down here.”

Katherine took the offered items as she gave Ellie a funny look. “How considerate of you.” Katherine remarked as she placed them down on her lap. “A bag of Chex Mix?” She questioned as she held up the bag.

Ellie shrugged. “I don’t know what you like and we had it in the house. It’s not like I had any blood on stand by to give you.” Ellie admitted. “Oh, here’s something to drink though.” She pulled a few bottles of water out of her bag and passed it to the vampire as well. “Can I ask how you ended up stuck in here?”

The vampire looked annoyed as she huffed. “The witch I had betrayed me to Stefan and Damon. She spelled the moonstone to knock me out when she gave it to me. They decided to toss me in here out of spite.” 

“Spite?”

“In 1864, the founding families had a secret council to get rid of the vampires in the town. I faked my death by setting it up so that I would get taken but I would escape before the church was set up in flames. All the other vampires were rounded up but didn’t die because Emily had cast a spell to seal us in the tomb until it was safe. They were trapped, I got out. Stefan and Damon died trying to save me. Damon spent the whole time since then trying to get me out. They weren’t exactly pleased when they found out I wasn’t in here.” Katherine explained as she rolled her eyes. “He stuck me in here and said it was where I should have been all along.”

Ellie nodded. It sounded like a petty move, but if she had spent that long trying to save someone only to find out that they didn’t need saving, she might have been a bit petty too. “If Elena brought you stuff, did she bring you any other clothes?”

She wasn’t sure why she was being so nice to the vampire, but she couldn’t help it. Katherine was staring at her before shaking her head. “No. Elena didn’t bring me any clothes.” Katherine informed her.

When Ellie looked down at her phone, she was surprised to see the time. “I’m sorry, but I have to get going. I don’t want anyone to get worried.” Ellie said as she stood from where she sat. Katherine watched her as she did so. “Do you want me to come back?” Ellie asked before she left.

“Why would you?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Ellie shot back.

“Fair enough. Do what you want.” Katherine told her. “It’s not like I can stop you.”

“I’ll see you later, Katherine.” Ellie said before she made her way back up the stairs. It was already dark as she made her way back to her car. Navigating out of the woods in the dark was a bit trickier, but she managed it before taking the familiar path home. She hoped she didn’t bump into anyone when she got there. Her emotions were still running far too high and there was a good chance she would snap on Elena.

There were choices that Elena had made that she just couldn’t support. She would need to talk to Elijah about what to do. He had wanted her to pretend to be unaware of what had happened for a reason, although he didn’t disclose why. She needed to know how he wanted her to react. If she was working with him, for him, whatever she wanted to call it, she had to make sure she didn’t mess up his plans so that he didn’t go back on his word to protect everyone.

When she arrived home, she moved quickly up the stairs. Jeremy’s door was closed and she could hear the music coming from it. She could hear Elena sniffling in her room, but she didn’t have the energy to try and deal with it. Even if she did have the energy, she wasn’t sure she could help Elena without thinking about all the things Elena had done. So, she ignored it and walked into her room instead. Ellie had had her limit of insanity for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Katherine and Ellie this chapter! And more Ellie and Elijah! Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts or if you have any questions! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> Posted: 8/22/20


	29. The Sacrifice

**Chapter 29: The Sacrifice**

_ March 29, 2010 _

Ellie was laying awake as she waited. She had spoken to Elijah after she visited Katherine. When she had asked, Elijah explained that it was best to leave the others unaware of her knowledge for now. Unless, of course, she thought it was necessary to tell them. For the past few days, she’d done everything she could to avoid basically everyone. Instead, she elected to spend her time with Luka and Dr. Martin or she’d go to visit Katherine.

The vampire had clearly been surprised that Ellie returned, but she did not turn away the company. Ellie had been supplying her with snacks and drinks as well as with books to read. Katherine was an impressively fast reader and the two had needed to switch books frequently. It had been unexpected how easily it came to Ellie to spend time with the vampire. The ability might have come from how hard Ellie was trying to stay away from everyone else, but the company was nice either way.

They didn’t exactly spill all their secrets to one another, but they had easy conversation. Sometimes, if Ellie wasn’t paying attention, it almost felt like she was just talking to a friend and not to someone who had done unspeakable things. She hadn’t forgotten who she was speaking to, but at least Katherine didn’t pretend to be a saint. Never once did Katherine act like she was innocent.

But now Ellie waited. In the time she’d spent with Dr. Martin and Luka, the older man had requested that she acquire some items of Elena’s. When she’d asked why, he assured that he only wanted it in case something happened to Elena and he needed to locate her. That was, of course, assuming that Ellie was somehow unavailable to do it herself.

Something shifted downstairs and Ellie could hear Elena gasp in her room. As quietly as she could, Ellie snuck through Jeremy’s open door and snuck into the bathroom. It was very convenient that he could be such a heavy sleeper. Even luckier was the way his entrance to the bathroom wasn’t completely shut. As Elena walked into the hallway to investigate, Ellie slid into Elena’s room. Elena gasped again loudly and another gasp followed after that. “Elena.” Alaric said as he cleared his throat.

“I heard something.” Elena explained.

Alaric laughed awkwardly before Jenna confirmed, “That was us.” There was an awkward silence before Jenna added, “I’m sorry.”

“We didn’t think anyone was up.” Alaric added.

Ellie pulled out a handkerchief that Dr. Martin had given her to use before pulling some of Elena’s hair out of her hairbrush. “But here you are and here we are.” Jenna said.

“We were just…” Alaric started before hesitating. 

“Just…” Jenna trailed off as Ellie hurriedly placed a couple of Elena’s bracelets with the hair.

“Chunky monkey?” He offered.

“I’m not really hungry.” Elena denied. “At all.”

Ellie picked up a necklace for good measure before carefully folding the handkerchief so nothing fell out. “Well…” Alaric laughed awkwardly before saying, “I’m naked. So I’m gonna go.” Ellie laughed quietly at that. In a split second decision, she carefully took a photo of Elena in her cheer uniform before she slipped back into the bathroom and waited for Jenna and Elena to get out of the hallway.

“I’m really, really sorry.” Jenna apologized a second later.

“It’s ok, Jenna, don’t worry about it.” Elena assured her.

That didn’t seem to be enough for Jenna. “I know he’s been staying over a lot. Are you… are you sure it’s ok?”

“Seems like things are good.” Elena commented as Ellie slipped back into Jeremy’s bedroom and watched as Jenna couldn’t help but grin.

“They’re extremely good.” Jenna confirmed.

“Then I’m extremely ok with it.” Elena told her. Ellie waited as she watched the two of them go in separate directions. As she waited to make sure that they were both settled, she turned back and snatched Elena’s other hairbrush off the bathroom counter. Hopefully, her twin wouldn’t notice that the items were missing.

Finally, she crept from the bathroom and headed back to her room. She hid the items carefully until she could get them to Dr. Martin. She had agreed to it after she’d decided to give the Martin’s a necklace of hers in case something happened to her. Or, in case something happened and one of them needed to be able to channel her. It could have been all the time that she was spending with them that helped her trust them a little more easily. If she didn’t have some sort of trust in them, she never would have done it.

Being able to talk to someone about everything had been such a relief. As much as she appreciated Emily, there was a different type of comfort that came from being able to talk about it with a physical person. It was around two in the morning and she didn’t need to be dead on her feet at school. Ellie crawled under the covers before clicking off her lamp.

* * *

School had passed without incident, and Ellie wondered how long her luck would last. As she had been preparing to leave the school, she spotted Luka and Bonnie standing together before the wind picked up and swirled around them wildly. The wind had only just stopped as Jeremy approached and it wasn’t long before Luka was coming her way. “Hey!” He greeted her brightly as he stopped beside her.

“Hey.” She replied. “What was that all about?” She questioned knowingly.

“She didn’t know what channeling was. Bonnie was telling me about how she gets headaches and nosebleeds and passes out sometimes. So I showed her how to channel another witch.” Luka explained. “You two found out that you were witches around the same time right?” When she nodded, he continued, “I just think it’s kind of insane how much more you know. I think she tried to avoid it for as long as she could.”

“Yeah. I was learning from her Grams before she died and from what she told me it was a while after I started learning before she taught Bonnie anything.” Ellie agreed. “Oh, I got the stuff for your dad but I forgot at home. I’ll go get it and then bring it by your place?” She suggested.

Luka nodded. “Yeah, I’m about to head home so just swing by whenever.”

“Perfect. I have an errand to run first and then I’ll be over there.” Ellie told him. “I’ll see you soon Luka.” He grinned at her as she got into her car and pulled out from the parking space. She drove through the woods easily before she had to get out and walk the rest of the distance. “Katherine?” Ellie called as she walked into the opening. The rock that was used as a door had been moved farther to the side than it was normally. Katherine walked towards the entrance slowly. It was actually a bit painful to see how weak she looked, but Ellie had no blood to give her. “You look rough.”

“I’m hungry.” Katherine said with a roll of her eyes. “All the Chex Mix in the world couldn’t fix it.” Ellie grinned slightly at her sarcasm. “I think you might need to take the things you’ve brought me.” Katherine told her suddenly.

“What? Why?” Ellie asked.

“Stefan and Damon paid me a visit this morning. I know them well enough to know that they’re probably going to try and get the moonstone from me, I’m just not sure how.” Katherine confessed. “And honestly, the thought of me knowing what you know while they’re clueless brings me a great deal of satisfaction and I can’t wait for Elena to find out.” Ellie must have looked worried because she added, “Oh don’t worry, I won’t tell. The longer it goes on the better her reaction will be.”

Ellie didn’t bother to argue. As long as she kept her secret, she didn’t care why she did it. Elijah would not be pleased if everyone found out because she’d told Katherine. She hadn’t even told him that she’d gone to see Katherine. It wasn’t like she saw him often and if he asked she’d have told him the truth. She’d also not told Katherine about her interactions with Elijah. It wasn’t like she was allowed to anyways.

She waited while Katherine made her way back to where she kept her things hidden. Ellie could hear her moving around back there before she made her way with a bag full of things in hand. Katherine held it up for her to take and once Ellie had it, she set it aside. “Alright, but before I take everything I brought you stuff so you could brush your teeth.” Ellie said as she offered the items to her. Katherine had made an offhand comment about not liking the way her teeth felt, and so Ellie had gotten her what she needed.

“Thanks.” Katherine said before she started to brush her teeth. Ellie waited patiently for her to finish and return the items. “You might want to go ahead and go. They came by early this morning and so they could be back any time. Don’t want to ruin the surprise.”

How long exactly could a vampire go without blood before they started to shut down? Because it seemed like Katherine was struggling. “I’ll try and come back later.” Ellie promised. Katherine just nodded and Ellie headed back up the stairs. She couldn’t risk getting caught by the others. Once she made it back to the car, she drove carefully out of the woods before heading home to get the items for Dr. Martin.

No one had been home when she’d grabbed the items. She drove easily to the Martin’s apartment. She’d spent enough time there in the last few days to know what shortcuts to take. Interestingly enough, when she arrived, Luka wasn’t there. At least, she couldn’t spot his car anywhere. When she made it up and knocked on the door, it was Dr. Martin who answered it. “Hello, Ellie.”

“Hi, Dr. Martin.” Ellie replied. “I brought the stuff you asked for.”

“Perfect.” He replied. “Come on in. You can set that stuff on the table.” She did as he asked. As he went back into another room, Ellie unfolded the handkerchief and started setting out the items on the table so that they weren’t all clumped together.

“Where’s Luka? I thought he was coming straight home?” Ellie inquired when the older man returned.

“He called me to say that he was low on gas and that one of his tires needed air.” Dr. Martin explained. A phone started ringing from the bedroom just before there was a knock on the door.

“Uh… I’ll get the door?” Ellie offered. He agreed and went to see who was calling. She opened the door to reveal Elijah. “Oh! Hi.” Ellie greeted.

“You wouldn’t happen to know the whereabouts of your sister now would you?” Elijah asked as he strolled inside the apartment. Apparently he’d already been invited in. When she didn’t answer fast enough, he turned to look at her. “Well?”

It snapped her out of her surprise at seeing him. “Um, no, actually. I didn’t see her at school today. But I’ve been avoiding everyone so I didn’t exactly ask where she was.” Ellie told him. “Wait. How did you know she wasn’t at school?”

“If I’m going to keep my word to you, I need to know where people are at all times.” Elijah replied. “It would have been convenient for you to inform me when something is out of the ordinary.”

“Well, it’s not like I have a way to reach you.” She said in her defense.

He handed out his hand expectantly and she just stared at him in confusion. “Your phone. Give it to me.” He told her. She did as requested as she pulled it from her pocket before passing it to him. Once he had it, he quickly did whatever it was he was doing before handing it back to her. She looked down at the screen to see his contact information plugged in. “The next time something is off, call me so I can fix it.”

“Ok.” She replied, not knowing what else to say.

“Now, what are we going to do about Elena being missing?” Elijah asked as he rolled up his sleeves. The action forced her to note that he wasn’t wearing his usual suit look. It was only slightly more casual with dress pants and a dress shirt. Every other time she had seen him he’d had on an expensive jacket as well.

“We could do a locator spell.” Ellie offered.

Dr. Martin made his reappearance then. “Ellie has just brought me everything I would need to do it.” He said to the vampire. “Hello, Elijah.” 

Elijah nodded his head in greeting. “What do I need to do?” He asked.

“Take a seat.” Dr. Martin instructed. “It’ll be one moment.” He searched in the cabinets for whatever it was he was looking for as Ellie moved to grab a few candles to place next to the items she’d taken from Elena. Once she placed the four candles on a plate so that the wax wouldn’t stick to the table, she lit them with her magic. The flames shooting to life caught Elijah’s attention, but he didn’t comment on it.

When Dr. Martin returned, he held a knife and a hand held mirror. He placed them down before sitting and arranging Elena’s things on the table as he pleased. “So how exactly does this spell work?” Elijah asked.

Holding up the knife, Dr. Martin held out his hand. “Give me your hand.” He instructed Elijah. He did so willingly and gave the other man his hand, palm up. Ellie watched as the knife sliced across Elijah's palm without him flinching in the slightest. “Place it here.” He said as he gestured to the photo of Elena. “Now, take my hand. Close your eyes. Relax your mind. And look for her.” She watched as Elijah did just that. “ _ Phasmatos tribum nas ex veras _ …” Dr. Martin started to chant as Ellie waited.

It wasn’t long before Elijah’s eyes snapped open. “Did you see her?” Ellie inquired. Now that he had referenced Elena as missing, she couldn’t shake the worry that was trying to consume her.

“I know exactly where she is.” Elijah said confidently.

“Is she ok?” Ellie asked. When Elijah confirmed that she was alright, some of her nervousness eased up, but she still didn’t like it. “Can I come with you?”

“No.” Elijah denied. “They don’t need to be made aware of your involvement yet.” She knew there was no way she’d win this fight. It wasn’t like she was in a position to even try anyways. “I should be going before your sister decides to do something that could get her killed.” He was gone before she could ask him what he meant.

“Is he always like that?” Ellie questioned.

Dr. Martin hummed in confirmation. “Just about.” They cleaned up the blood from the photo before putting the items away. They’d just finished when the door opened as Luka came in. “So how was school?” He asked as Luka shrugged off his backpack to place it on the table.

“Riveting.” Luka said sarcastically.

Ellie looked up when she saw Luka tense as he gasped. He frowned as Dr. Martin asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Luka replied before Dr. Martin slowly turned back to his books. Ellie kept her eyes on him as he reached up to his chest and felt around. It took only a second for her to realize that his dog tags weren’t there.

“Did you get your tire fixed up?” Ellie asked in an attempt to distract the boy. It felt like something bad was about to happen. It wasn’t a question of if it was going to happen, just when.

“Yeah, yeah I did. Good thing I noticed it when I did or I probably would have ended up stranded on the side of the road.” Luka replied. “Hey, do you think you can help me with that English assignment?” He asked. “I wasn’t kidding when I told you it wasn’t my best subject.”

She grinned at him. “Of course, I worked on it earlier, I just don’t have my stuff with me right now.” Ellie took a seat next to him as he pulled what he needed from his book bag. They had been working peacefully for a few minutes, five at most, when he started to shift uncomfortably in his seat.

He tried to ignore it and made it a minute or so longer before he flinched in his seat. “What’s going on?” Dr. Martin demanded as Luka grunted.

“It’s Bonnie Bennett.” Luka confessed as he started to breathe heavily. “She’s channeling me.”

“Why would you let her do that?” Dr. Martin asked as Ellie reached out to Luka.

“You told me to bond with her so I bonded.” Luka shot back as he let out a low groan.

“Oh my god.” Dr. Martin breathed as blood started running out of Luka’s nose. Luka fell from his seat as he clutched his sides. “Luka!”

Ellie dropped down beside him at the same time Dr. Martin did. Luka clutched his head as he shook. “What can we do? Can we sever the connection between them?” Ellie asked in a panic.

“Give me your hand!” He shouted and she did immediately. He brought her hand to the side of Luka’s head before placing his hand on top of hers and his other hand on the other side of his Luka’s head. Dr. Martin shouted an incantation and Ellie felt the rush of magic build up before it disappeared entirely.

When the connection disappeared, Luka gasped in relief before he shook. “What the hell was Bonnie thinking?” Ellie nearly screeched as she helped Luka sit up. “God what was she trying to do? She could have killed you.”

“She will never do that again.” Dr. Martin warned. It was clear from his tone that he was  _ pissed _ and rightfully so.

Ellie nodded in agreement as she moved to get a tissue to wipe the blood. “Luka are you ok?” She asked softly as she wiped his nose. He was still shaking as he struggled to calm down. Luka didn’t reply to her and that was something she found to be incredibly concerning. “Dr. Martin, is he ok?”

“No.” Dr. Martin confessed. “But he will be.” He moved to stand before reaching down to get Luka. “Come on, son.” He said and Ellie wrapped Luka’s arm around her neck for extra support. It was somewhere between them carrying Luka and just supporting him as they took him to his bedroom. Dr. Martin placed Luka on the bed as Ellie untied the boy’s shoes.

Once she placed his shoes back in his closet, she turned to Dr. Martin. “What can I do?” She asked helplessly. She had never been in this situation before. Intentional or not, Bonnie could have caused Luka serious damage if she hadn’t have killed him. “Please, what can I do?” She repeated.

“Stay here with him while I go get him something to ease the pain.” Dr. Martin instructed. Ellie sat on the edge of the bed while Luka twitched in discomfort. What on earth had Bonnie been thinking? Better yet, what on earth had she been attempting to do that required that much power?

The other girl had made it clear that she didn’t really want anything to do with magic. So why, all of a sudden, was attempting something so risky? Luka moaned again as he lifted off the bed slightly. It was clear that whatever Bonnie had done had really affected him. Who knew what could have happened if she and Dr. Martin hadn’t severed the connection. “Luka…” She said pitifully as she held his hand.

Dr. Martin returned with both regular medicine and something else that she didn’t recognize. Whatever it was, it was dark colored and in a bottle with a slightly faded label. “Luka, son, drink.” Dr. Martin told him before he tilted up Luka’s head so that he could drink it without getting choked. 

After he returned once more with a glass of water so that Luka could take regular pain medicine, Ellie offered, “Chamomile tea helps. It’s what my teacher always had me drink after I wore myself out practicing magic. I could make him some if you have any, or I could go get some.”

“We might have some in the kitchen.” Dr. Martin said. Ellie took it as her cue to go and look. They had moved in recently, and so their cabinets weren’t all filled and that made it much easier to find what she needed. The chamomile had been pushed back behind the coffee, but it was a good brand and was mercifully full. 

The kettle was easy to locate and she filled it with enough water to make tea for all three of them. Once the water was boiled, she filled the cups and while the tea cooled, she headed back to Luka’s room. His father was still sitting next to him as he watched Luka try and rest. Dr. Martin still looked mad as hell and Ellie couldn’t blame him. It seemed like it was just the two of them, and that would undoubtedly make him more protective. “The tea is ready.” She spoke softly, as to not disturb him.

“Thank you.” Dr. Martin replied. She could hear him waking Luka from his fitful rest so that he could drink. Once she returned with the cups, she helped hold the other teenager steady so that he could have his tea. She and Dr. Martin eventually ventured out back into the main room once Luka’s breathing had slowed to a steady and slow pattern.

“If it’s alright with you, I’d like to stay for a while, to keep an eye on Luka.” She confessed. He nodded in agreement. His anger and rage had drained him, leaving him looking exhausted. “I can watch him while you take a break if you’d like.” 

For a moment, it looked like he wanted to protest, before he sighed heavily. “That would be appreciated.” He replied.

“Just let me call my aunt to tell her that I’ll be home late.” Ellie replied before walking off to call Jenna. 

It rang a few times before the other woman answered.  _ “Hello?” _

“Hey, Jen. It’s Ellie.” 

_ “Is everything ok?” _ Jenna asked worriedly.

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine.” Ellie started. “Uh, actually… I was helping a friend with homework and they got really sick. I might be home late because I wanted to stay and keep an eye on them in case they needed anything.”

_ “Oh! I hope they’re ok. Yeah, Ellie, it’s totally fine. Thank you for calling me and giving me a heads up. Hopefully they feel better soon.” _ Jenna replied and Ellie could hear the concern in her aunt’s voice. She was such a kind heart.

“I think they should be fine soon, I just wanted to make sure of it.” Ellie replied.

_ “Let me know if you need anything.” _ Jenna insisted.

“I will.” Ellie assured her before they said their goodbyes. Talking with Jenna since everything had happened had been harder. The guilt at keeping the things she knew secret ate at her. It had been one thing when it was just her ability to make feathers float or flowers come back to life. But now people’s lives were at stake. People she loved could die. She couldn’t keep it from Jenna for much longer.

Elijah didn’t want her telling anyone, but she would just have to deal with his anger. It seemed more that he didn’t want the people already involved knowing about what she knew. He had said nothing about Jenna in particular. At this point, she was just going to have to deal with the fallout as it happened.

* * *

She had fallen asleep for a while after Luka had finally, finally fallen into a peaceful sleep. When she woke, she came to the living room and startled when she saw Elijah standing by the window. “Elijah.” Ellie said once her brain processed his presence. She could see his eyes turn to watch her from the reflection on the glass. “Did you find Elena? Is she alright?”

He hummed slightly, but Dr. Martin came in from the front door before he could speak. “Where’s Luka?” He questioned the other man.

“Asleep.” Dr. Martin replied. Ellie could see how tired he looked and she worried how much a toll it had taken on him to watch his son suffer.

“His shadow spell was successful. I was able to track that girl. However, I did have a little run in with one of the brothers that killed me.” Elijah commented.

“I assume he didn’t live to tell about it.” Dr. Martin said.

It was somewhat surprising to see his nonchalance at the possible murder of one of the Salvatores. But maybe the events of the day had been enough that he simply couldn’t be bothered to care. She understood that perfectly. “Actually, I spared him.” Elijah explained, surprising them both. “He’d die before he let anything happen to her. They both would. She’ll be kept safe.”

“For now.” Dr. Martin added. It made Ellie uncomfortable and stressed to think about it.

“Well, that’s precisely what we need her to be.” Elijah said before he turned to face them both. “Safe.”

Dr. Martin turned to Ellie then. “Thank you for staying to keep an eye on him. I won’t keep you any longer than necessary Ellie.” He told her.

“Are you sure?” She asked worriedly.

“I’m sure. You should get home.” He said before he turned back to Elijah. “Is there anything else you need for today?”

Whether the vampire had sensed Dr. Martin’s distress or simply was being truthful, he shook his head. “No, thank you. I’ll take my leave.” Elijah replied. “Allow me to escort you?” The last statement was directed to Ellie.

“Uh… yeah. Sure.” She agreed and made sure to get her things before telling Dr. Martin, “Please have Luka call me when he wakes up so I can make sure he’s ok.”

“I will.”

Elijah held the door open for her as they exited and he proceeded to hold every other door they came across on the way to the parking lot. “If you don’t mind, I would prefer to make sure that you return home safely. Especially since your sister seems to have a habit of getting herself into messes.” Elijah commented as he held the passenger door of her own car open for her.

She gave him a look, but figured it was just better to do what he wanted. Ellie handed him her keys before sliding into her seat. After he shut the door for her he walked over to the driver's side. She remained quiet as he adjusted her seat to be more comfortable for him. No one was really allowed to drive her car except for her. There was definitely no way that she would let Jeremy ever know that she let the man drive her car. “Can I ask you something?” Ellie asked softly.

“You may.” Elijah replied.

“Ever since you told me what was really happening in Mystic Falls, I haven’t felt right not telling Jenna. I know you don’t want me to let Elena and everyone that is already involved, but she doesn’t know. I don’t think it’s right for her to be oblivious when our family is in danger.” Ellie explained. She hoped that he understood why she wanted to tell Jenna. “I know that it can be risky, but I think once she can process the news she can keep the secret from them if she needs to.”

“Are you sure?” He questioned after a moment. It seemed he was taking his time to process what she was requesting and was weighing the pros and cons. “This Jenna woman-”

“My aunt.” Ellie interjected.

“Your aunt, are you sure that she will be able to keep what you know a secret?” Elijah asked.

In all honesty, no she wasn’t. But if she wanted Jenna to have the truth that she deserved, then she had to make sure it wouldn’t go against her deal with Elijah. Which meant that she had to sell it or he would know she was lying. “Yes.” She said after she took a second to collect herself. “She can. Jenna’s strong. She can handle it.” The last bit was spoken with conviction.

He glanced in her direction. It was clear to him that she found it important to be honest with her aunt. She was fiercely loyal to the woman and if she didn’t care as much as she did, he doubted she ever would have dared to ask. In all of their other encounters, she never asked for much. She didn’t protest when he told her no. It wasn’t that he thought she was the docile. No, it just seemed that she was treading carefully and trying to make wise decisions. He respected that. For her to remain loyal, it was important for him to give in to certain requests. When she began to look nervous, he finally turned back to focus on the road and nodded. “Alright, you may tell her.”

“What?” Her shocked reply was out of her mouth before she could stop it.

Elijah could see she was staring at him with wide eyes. Had he somehow acted in a way that would make her believe that he would deny the only real request she’d made? “You have my permission to tell your aunt. However, if her reaction turns unfavorable, I may have to intervene.” He knew she understood his warning.

“I understand.” She confirmed. They drove for a few minutes in silence. “Elena was ok, right? Whatever happened today, she’s ok?” Worry laced her voice.

“She was fine. She was trying to do something incredible stupid, but she was physically unharmed.” Elijah assured her and she relaxed in her seat. “It is most convenient that you don’t seem to be as reckless as she is.”

Ellie couldn’t help but scoff. “No kidding.” She muttered under her breath, but he heard her anyway. When they spotted her house, all the lights were off. He pulled into the drive smoothly. “Thank you for driving me home.” He nodded again and he was standing on the other side of her door, opening it for her before she could even reach for the handle. She stepped out and he shut the door after she moved out of the way. She tilted her head up to look at him. “Um… goodnight.” She said awkwardly.

“Goodnight, Eleanor.” Elijah replied. When he didn’t move, she just assumed that he was waiting for her to get inside. She locked her car and walked up the steps. A glance back told her that he was still standing there. She waved slightly before walking inside and closing the door. When she looked out of the window, he was gone without a trace. The speed that vampires could move at was still startling to see, but she was adjusting.

Once again, she made it to her room without incident and changed as quickly as possible before collapsing in her bed. As she slipped into her dreamland, she couldn’t help but feel that things were going to get worse before they got better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being a little late today with posting. We have family visiting from out of town and I couldn't get to my computer to post. But I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts or if you have any questions.
> 
> Posted: 8/29/20


	30. By The Light Of The Moon

**Chapter 30: By The Light of The Moon**

_ March 30, 2010 _

Sometime in the middle of the night, Luka woke and texted her to let her know that he was fine. It was a relief to hear, but she’d feel better seeing that he was alright for herself. Now that she had Elijah’s permission, she couldn’t find a reason to hesitate in telling Jenna. Her aunt had the day off from her school work because apparently Mrs. Lockwood had roped her into showing around some writer who was writing a book on small-town Virginia.

She had decided to wait until after Jenna had a late breakfast slash early lunch with Alaric. Ellie knew that he was involved, and she wasn’t going to lie to Jenna. She just hoped to god that she didn’t destroy their relationship by telling her the truth. It was obvious how much he cared about Jenna. He was probably the first person Jenna had been with that was genuinely good for her. 

The young witch had sent a message to Elijah, making clear that she had intentions to reveal the truth to Jenna shortly. He had been fine with it. He’d also made some comment about it having good timing. She wasn’t sure what he had meant, but she didn’t question it. Typically, she didn’t really question him at all. It wasn’t like he’d really given her any reason to doubt him. Elena and Jeremy were both acting strangely, and Ellie wondered what secrets they were keeping now. At the very least, Jeremy seemed somewhat frustrated with Elena. It was reassuring to know that he wasn’t just doing whatever Elena wanted.

Managing to convince Jenna into bringing Ellie with her to go search the storage unit had been easier than she’d expected. It was probably the only place where they were guaranteed almost total privacy to talk. As Jenna arrived from the late breakfast early lunch date with Alaric to get Ellie, Elena had been moping on the couch while Jeremy laughed on the floor. “So why exactly are you actually wanting to help with this?” Jenna asked curiously.

“Why not?” Ellie joked as she changed the radio station.

“Please, if Carol hadn’t pulled the ‘my husband is dead now’ card, I would definitely not be doing this. We have so much storage to look through.” Jenna groaned. Ellie elected not to mention that her mom had kept all the historical related boxes in the storage space under the stairs. They needed the privacy of the storage unit.

Ellie made a face at her. “Jenna!” She teased. “It could be fun!”

“Mmhmm, sure. You say that now until we come across a whole family of spiders and they attack us like the vicious little monsters that they are.” Jenna said seriously and Ellie shuddered slightly. They both  _ hated _ spiders.

“Do not wish that on us, Jenna!” Ellie cried. “You’ll jinx us!”

“I take it back! I take it back!” Jenna repeated. “Fingers crossed for no spiders.” Ellie crossed her fingers tightly before bumping her hand to Jenna’s. She uncrossed her fingers when her phone buzzed in her pocket, signalling that she'd received a text message. To her great surprise, it was Elijah. The text was simple.

_ Let me know how she reacts. _

Part of her wasn’t surprised by it, but she also figured that that would be a given. Once she sent back a reply letting him know that she would, she turned her phone off and slid it back into its place. “God this place is empty.” Ellie commented as they pulled into the parking lot. She followed Jenna through the place as they searched for the correct unit. They hadn’t been here in a while and it was easy to forget where it was when everything looked the exact same. Once they were inside it, Ellie spoke, “Hey, Jenna…”

“Yeah?” Jenna replied distractedly as she scanned over the name of the boxes.

“Can I talk to you about something?” Ellie asked. The serious nature of her tone was enough for Jenna to stop what she was doing to turn and look at the younger girl. “It’s important.”

“Is everything ok?” Jenna asked. Sometimes, Ellie and Elena were so different. When it came to the important things, Ellie could be as serious as any adult at their best could. She also had a habit of wearing her heart on her sleeve and her emotions were always so easy to see. Whatever this was, it was a very big deal to Ellie. “What’s wrong?”

Ellie took a calming breath and momentarily longed for the chamomile tea that she’d grown so accustomed to. “There’s something that I haven’t told you.” Ellie began. “Well, honestly, I haven’t told anyone. And you’re going to think that I’m crazy and I know that it sounds crazy but I really need you to hear me, Jenna.”

“Ok.” Jenna said. “I promise I will.”

She knew how absolutely ridiculous it was about to sound. Ellie hadn’t forgotten how crazy they all had thought Miss Sheila was for her insistence that Bonnie was a witch. It wasn’t until they’d seen it with their own eyes that they’d truly believed. “I’m a witch.” Ellie said simply and waited for the reaction she knew was to come.

Jenna scrunched her brows in confusion before busting out laughing. “Ellie, what kind of joke… you really had me worried there for a second.” Jenna laughed, but Ellie’s expression remained just as serious as ever. “You’re joking right?”

“Behind you.” Ellie said softly. Jenna turned obediently and her phone clattered against the concrete floor when she dropped it. Without the blonde realizing, Ellie had used her magic to lift several boxes in the air. Each box was floating a good six inches above whatever was below it.

Slowly, Jenna turned back to face her niece. Her face had lost all it’s color in her shock and Ellie was worried that she was going to collapse. “I think I need to sit down.” Jenna told her. Ellie let the boxes return back to their original places as she went to help Jenna sit on the couch that had once been in the living room. “I don’t understand.” Jenna confessed shakily.

“I’ll explain everything, but if it gets to be too much, tell me and I’ll shut up, ok?” Ellie told her gently. It pained her to admit that she was terrified of Jenna’s reaction. If Jenna ended up afraid of her, it would be a blow she wasn’t sure she could recover from.

“Ok.” Jenna agreed.

Ellie took a deep breath before she began. “Being a witch runs in the bloodline. As far as I’m aware, if you aren’t born a witch, you can’t become a witch. It comes from my birth parents.”

“Does that mean Elena’s one too?” Jenna asked.

“As far as I know, no she’s not. Think of it like Harry Potter. They could have one kid that was a witch, and another one that was fully blood related but be a squib. Unless Elena has another curve ball to throw at me, she’s not a witch.” Ellie confirmed.

“How did you find out?” Jenna questioned.

“By accident. Too many freaky things were happening and so I went to Miss Sheila for help.” Ellie told her.

Jenna looked confused again. “You mean Bonnie’s Grams? Why would you go to her?”

“Because they’re both witches. It runs in the Bennett bloodline.” Ellie revealed before remaining silent. Once Jenna had a moment to digest it, Ellie continued, “I had known that Bonnie was a witch, so I went to Miss Sheila for help. She was teaching me how to control my magic and improve before she died.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Jenna asked curiously. “Did you not trust me?”

Ellie took a hold of Jenna’s hand. “It wasn’t that Jenna, I swear. I trust you more than most everyone else. Jen, I haven’t told anyone else I’m a witch. Elena and Jer don’t know. The only one that knew was Miss Sheila.” Ellie explained. “The reason I didn’t tell you was because Miss Sheila said that it would be safer if I was in control of my powers before anyone knew.”

Her aunt seemed to understand. “But, why now? What made you decide to finally tell me.” A long sigh came from Ellie. This would be the hard part. It was long and complicated and she wasn’t sure if Jenna would take it as well as she had taken the witch reveal. She started at the beginning. Explaining Stefan’s appearance and the part he had played in saving the lives of both Elena and Ellie. “Vampire?”

“Mmhmm.”

“He and Damon… are  _ vampires _ ?” Jenna’s disbelief was understandable. It wasn’t far off from Ellie’s reaction.

“Yup. I know, it’s somehow more insane than the witch part. But apparently, he came to town to visit his ‘Uncle’ Zach, who was really like his great nephew somewhere down the line. He saw me and Elena and we looked like the girl who turned him and Damon.” Ellie started. She carefully explained how Damon had compelled and used Caroline, as well as her disbelief that Elena had known and continued to be his friend.

“I knew something wasn’t right about him.” Jenna commented. “God, he’s Ric’s friend.”

“Yeah, about that.” Ellie said. “He’s also killed Ric, because Ric tried to kill him, because Damon killed Isobel. Ric’s wife and my birth mother. If it wasn’t for this magic ring that he had, Alaric wouldn’t be alive right now.” Jenna lost all her color at the thought of Alaric dying. Once Jenna seemed like she could handle it, Ellie carefully walked their way through what had happened. She explained what happened to Vicki and she knew Jenna was thinking about Matt and his mother.

She wasn’t looking forward to explaining what had happened to Jeremy, but it was necessary. When it came to that point in what she knew, Ellie spoke very carefully. The moment Jenna looked overwhelmed she would stop speaking, but she made it through the whole ordeal before she paused. “Damon killed Jeremy?” Jenna asked as her voice cracked. The color had once again vanished from her face and she was as still as stone. “Damon  _ killed  _ Jeremy.” She repeated.

Jenna had a death grip on Ellie’s hand. “He did. The same kind of ring that saved Alaric is what saved Jeremy.”

“Why the hell is he still alive?” Jenna’s voice was absolutely dripping with venom. “How could Elena stand to be near him? Ellie, he's been in our home since then. We played games with him. I told him that I didn’t think he was entirely horrible.”

“You didn’t know. Neither of us did.” Ellie insisted. She knew Jenna wasn’t going to take the news of Mason’s death well at all. Damon had killed too many people Jenna cared about. She continued, and as she expected, that news did not sit well with Jenna. The blonde was pissed with the older Salvatore at that point. It was a relief that Ellie wasn’t alone in how she felt.

Jenna stood and started pacing. “How?  _ How _ is Elena still his friend? I just don’t understand.” 

She was positively seething. “Jenna… Jenna, listen. I need to tell you why I told you all of this.” Ellie insisted. Jenna slowly returned to her seat and focused back on Ellie. “There’s someone coming… at least, he might be. If he finds out about me and Elena, he will. You remember that girl that turned Stefan and Damon that Elena and I look like?”

“Katherine?”

“Mmhmm. Five hundred years ago, she narrowly escaped getting murdered by him in a sacrifice. Elena and I will be the first opportunity he’s had in half a millennium. If he knows about us, he’s not gonna stop until one of us is dead.” Jenna’s anger had faded into terror. “I hate Damon too, I do. But right now, he’d do anything to keep Elena safe at the very least. I have some chance at protecting myself. But Damon and Stefan will do anything to protect her.” Ellie explained.

“How would this person find you guys?” Jenna asked fearfully.

“It was almost because of Katherine. She was going to offer up as much as she could give to him so that he would set her free. He’s been hunting her ever since she escaped.” Ellie told her. “But she didn’t get the chance to contact someone to tell him where we were.”

“Why do you sound so calm about that?”

Ellie shrugged. “I don’t want anyone to die, but if I was running for that long then I could understand the desire to just want it over. From what I know about her, she’d only been like mine and Elena’s age. She’d had her baby taken from her before she ever got to hold it and banished to another country. Then, when she escaped, she made it back home only to find that the man she ran from had slaughtered her whole family.”

“She was just a kid then.” Jenna breathed.

“She was. She was no different than Elena and I and she undoubtedly blamed herself for her family’s murder. I’m pretty sure that could mess up anyone.” Ellie defended. She wasn’t going to try and justify all the things Katherine had done. She and the other girl both knew that sometimes Katherine did bad things just because she could and because she wanted to. It didn’t mean that she was just going to completely dehumanize and villainize her though.

“God all of this is so complicated.” Jenna groaned. “Is there anyone else in danger?”

“Katherine was going to offer up a lot to try and save herself. Elena and I are doppelgängers, he needs our blood. But he also needs a vampire and a werewolf as well. I think they would also get sacrificed. Katherine turned Caroline and triggered both Mason and Tyler’s werewolf curses. She wouldn’t have had to trigger Tyler’s if Mason hadn’t been killed.” Ellie told her. “But if we try to run, everyone dies. All our friends and our family, he will kill everyone as his payback.”

Jenna looked absolutely terrified. She’d already lost her sister and her brother in law. The thought of her nieces and nephew dying must have been overwhelming. “Ellie, what do we do?” Jenna asked softly. “You’re a witch, is there any way that you can keep him far away from here?”

“I’m doing my best to keep everyone safe. Elena is just stupid and reckless.” Ellie huffed. “I just… Jenna can you handle this? Knowing all of this? Elena seems to think that your ignorance is bliss. I didn’t.”

“I can’t just ignore it, Ellie. And yes, I’m scared of losing you guys, but I would rather know what’s coming than to be blindsided.” Jenna told her.

Ellie gave an awkward half-laugh. “And I have, uh, I have one thing I need from you though.” 

“What is it?”

“You can’t tell Elena that you know. You can’t let any of them have even a sneaking suspicion that you know.” Ellie said urgently. “They don’t know that I know either.” Jenna looked like she wanted to protest. “Jenna they  _ cannot _ know that I know. I can’t tell them that I’m a witch. To be honest I’m not sure I particularly trust them with that knowledge. Jenna  _ please _ . If they find out about you then they find out about me.”

Jenna could see how desperate her niece looked. For whatever reason, Ellie genuinely didn’t want them to know that she was a witch. “Alright.” Jenna finally agreed. “I’ll keep it a secret. But if we have to entertain Damon in our house again, I might accidentally poison him.” Ellie laughed in relief as Jenna said it.

* * *

Once they’d finally had enough time for Jenna to somewhat adjust to the idea of everything, she got a call from the writer Mrs. Lockwood had her helping. “Hello?” Jenna answered and Ellie was proud of how absolutely normal her voice sounded. “Hi, yes, this is Jenna Sommers.”

“Is it the dude?” Ellie asked.

Jenna nodded. “Oh, yes, that’s just fine. I’m not at home right now but feel free to stop by. The address is 2104 Maple Street.” Jenna was saying. “I’ll head that way now.” She was nodding along to whatever the writer was saying. “Ok, that works. I’ll see you soon.”

“Well maybe at least they’re cute?” Ellie suggested hopefully. Jenna just shook her head at her niece. They locked up the unit before heading to the car. “So how are you dealing with everything?”

“I could be better.” Jenna confessed. “But I’ll be ok, we both will.” She promised as they drove to the house. When they arrived, a nice but unfamiliar car sat in their driveway. They parked beside it and once they got out of the car, Ellie turned to see who the writer was and her eyes shot wide at the sight of Elijah leaning casually against his car.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Elijah.” He said warmly as he held a hand out for Jenna to shake.

She smiled brightly at him as she shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you too. I’m Jenna. This is my niece, Ellie.” Jenna replied.

“Hi, Ellie. That’s a lovely name.” He told her as he shot her a brilliant smile. She’d never seen him smile like that. It was odd to hear him call her Ellie. After he’d learned that Ellie was short for Eleanor, he tended to call her that more than anything else.

She shook his offered hand and returned his smile. When he gave her hand a questioning squeeze and shot a look at Jenna she nodded and smiled a bit more brightly. “It’s great to meet you too, Elijah.” She said before she and Elijah followed after Jenna to the house. “Oh, hey, Jenna.”

“Yeah?” Jenna asked as they made their way onto the porch.

“I forgot to mention it, but I’m pretty sure mom kept her historical society stuff in that storage space under the stairs.” Ellie said with a slightly guilty look on her face. When Jenna sent her a glare Ellie reminded her, “I love you.”

“Sure you do.” Jenna said with a roll of her eyes. “Well, come on in Elijah.” Jenna told him as she stepped through the door. Elijah gestured for Ellie to step in before he did and then he stepped through the threshold of the house. “Um, would you like a drink… or something?”

“That would be lovely, thank you.” Elijah replied as they walked for the kitchen. 

“Uh, Jenna, I can get him a drink if you want to try and find the boxes.” Ellie offered.

“Ok, great.” Jenna told her. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m going to abandon you for just a minute.”

Elijah once again gave her a brilliant smile. “I’m sure Ellie will be more than enough company.” Elijah assured her. 

“Is tea ok?” Ellie asked as she went over to the cabinets, “Or would you prefer coffee?”

“Tea is perfectly acceptable.” Elijah told her. Ellie had her back to him as she reached in the cabinet to get the tea. 

When she turned around, he was standing right behind her. She jerked back in surprise. “Holy shit, Elijah are you trying to give me a heart attack?” She hissed quietly as to not alert Jenna in the hall.

Her reaction was returned with a small smirk on his part before he asked, “Did you tell her?”

“Yes. I told her basically everything except for my involvement with you and the Martins. She doesn’t know who you are other than that you’re supposedly a writer.” Ellie explained. As she slid past him to get the kettle.

She could feel Elijah standing right behind her. She was sure he was about to say something when Jenna’s phone began to ring. The air behind Ellie shifted and when she looked up, Elijah was standing several feet away from her. “Oh, sorry about that.” Jenna apologized. “Hello?” Jenna rolled her eyes dramatically. “Yes, I sent the updated thesis to you this morning. Of course, I will go and double check that the email was sent.” She pulled the phone away from her mouth and apologized. “I’m so sorry, this is my advisor.”

“Go on, Jen. I can keep him company for a few more minutes.” Ellie laughed as she put the kettle on. “She hates her advisor.” Ellie told him and Jenna made a face before nodding and walking out of the room. As Jenna walked up the stairs, Elijah seemed to have no issue invading Ellie’s personal space. Despite it probably being unnecessary, she just assumed that he did it so that they wouldn’t be overheard.

“How did she react to this?” Elijah questioned as they waited for the kettle to boil.

“About the way I expected her to.” Ellie confessed. “She was scared and freaked out and then she was mad as hell about the things the others, particularly Damon, had done. But she wants nothing more than to keep us safe. She promised me that she wouldn’t tell them that either of us know.” The kettle began to whisper before Ellie pulled it off the eye, filling up three cups. “Do you like chamomile tea?”

“I do, actually.” He confirmed as she prepared the tea. “You have a lovely home.”

“Thank you. I’ve lived here my whole life.” Ellie told him. “You wouldn’t happen to know if Elena and Jeremy are here would you? I didn’t check to see if I saw their car.”

He tilted his head slightly before replying, “Your brother and sister appear to be in their respective bedrooms.” He informed her.

“So what exactly was Elena trying when you had Dr. Martin do that spell to find her?” Ellie questioned as she passed him a cup. “Would you like some honey?” She offered.

“No thank you.” He denied as he stirred his drink. “As for your sister, she was trying to get herself taken to Klaus.”

“What?” Ellie squeaked. “Is she trying to get herself killed?”

Elijah gave her a look before saying, “If I had to guess, I’d say it was her foolish attempt to try and protect the ones that she loves.” Elijah rolled his eyes. “Good intentions or not, it was incredibly reckless of her. That’s why I need the Salvatore brothers alive. They’ll keep her safe. Makes it easier for me to be able to keep you safe when they have her covered.”

She ignored the comment and asked, “How did she try and get in contact with Klaus?”

“She managed to get word to some people that are low on the totem pole. Don’t worry, they’re no longer an issue. They won’t be able to get word to Klaus.” Elijah said and Ellie shuddered at the thought. The way he spoke made it clear that he’d more than likely killed them. “But I can’t have her doing something so reckless. It will interfere with my plans. As well as my promise to you.”

At the very least, she appreciated his dedication to keeping his promise. “What if you offered her a deal?” Ellie suggested. “If you offer her protection for our family, then she might not do anything stupid. If she did that because she’s worried Klaus will kill us all if we run, then if you say you’ll protect us, then she might strike a deal.”

“You believe so?”

“I do. Besides, it’s not like you’d really be promising her anything you haven’t already promised me.” Ellie added. “But can I ask why you need us?”

He nodded as he took a sip of his tea. “This is quite tasty by the way.” Elijah commented and Ellie flushed slightly at the praise. “But as for Klaus, he is a recluse. He trusts those only in his immediate circle.”

“But if you’re family, shouldn’t you be in his inner circle?” Ellie asked.

Elijah shook his head. “Not anymore.” There was definitely a story there, but Ellie didn’t think it was the right time to pry.

“You don’t know where he is.” Ellie deduced. She hadn’t necessarily considered the option, so it was surprising. “Elena’s going to try and be difficult when you talk to her. She was stupid enough to try and sass Rose and Trevor.” The thought of Trevor still made her wince.

“Duly noted.” Elijah replied. It was only when there was a moment of silence that Ellie realized how close they were standing. “Jenna’s call seems to have finally come to an end.” Elijah said as he tilted his head to listen more closely. Finally, he stepped away from her, opting to take a seat at the kitchen table while he waited for Jenna to return.

“Hi! So sorry that took so long.” She apologized as Ellie handed her the cup of tea that had been prepared for her.

Elijah waved off the apology with an easy smile. “Don’t worry about it. Ellie was more than enough company.” He assured her. “Did you manage to find anything that might be of use before you got pulled away?”

“I did, actually. There’s probably way more stuff that you could use but I didn’t get a chance to look at it all.” Jenna informed him as she drank her tea. “Here, Ellie, do you want to go grab a couple boxes from under the stairs?”

She hummed in agreement. “Yeah, sure. I’ll be right back.” Ellie replied as she set her cup down on the counter. She went and tried to lift the box only to groan at how heavy it was. “Oh what the hell I have no arm strength.” Ellie groaned. She took a glance to make sure that Jeremy and Elena were still upstairs before using her magic to lift the box into her arms. Once she had a few in her arms, she carried them into the kitchen. Whether she was using her magic to make it easier or not was irrelevant. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” Elijah replied. He was trying hard not to smile and she knew that he heard her struggle with the boxes.

“Ok, shut up.” She whined under her breath and he really smiled when Jenna’s back was turned.

“It’s not my fault you have no arm strength.” Elijah remarked and she groaned again at the confirmation that he had  _ in fact _ heard her.

“I’ll go get some more boxes.” Jenna told them before walking out of the room.

Elijah’s gaze went to the ceiling. “Elena’s coming down.”

A few seconds later, Ellie could hear Elena in the hall. “Hey, what are you doing?” She was asking Jenna.

“Oh. Perfect timing.” Jenna replied as Elijah stood and Ellie moved to stand beside him.

There was the sound of a box being shuffled and Elena trying to keep stuff from falling. “What is this?” Elena asked.

“Your mom’s files from the historical society. I got roped into helping Mrs. Lockwood. And by roped, I mean very excited to participate.” Jenna shut the door and Ellie couldn’t help the satisfaction she felt from seeing Elena gasp in shock.

“Hey. I’m Elijah.” He greeted the other girl as Jenna set a box down.

As Jenna went back to get the box Elena was holding, Ellie explained, “Elijah’s in town doing research on Mystic Falls.”

They both walked over to Elena who was glued to the spot. “It’s a pleasure.” He said to Elena as he held out a hand for her to shake. It was oddly relieving to finally be able to understand what was happening around her instead of being clueless. Elena being blindsided was also very nice.

“So, you know, you’re welcome to stay here and rummage through this stuff, or Elena, Ellie and I could help you load it into your car.” Jenna offered.

“Yeah, or I can get someone to pick it up tomorrow.” Elijah replied.

Jenna gave a half laugh. “Also a good plan.”

“Well, thank you so much for inviting me into your home, Jenna. And Ellie, thank you so much for the wonderful tea you made.” Elijah thanked them. The three of them started to head to the door when Elijah turned back, “And Elena, I hope to see you again sometime soon.” Ellie had to turn away to keep Elena from noticing her smile. “Thanks for your help, Jenna.”

“Anytime.” Jenna replied as she opened the door for him.

“Bye, Elijah.” Ellie said as she smiled brightly at him.

He returned her smile. “See you later, Ellie.” As Jenna was closing the door, Ellie could see Elena trying hard to not run up the stairs. That meant Jeremy knew everything.

Jeremy came down a few moments later. “Hey, Elena said that you guys wanted me to help with the boxes?”

“Good, because I don’t want to lift things.” Ellie said before she headed upstairs. “I’ll be in my room.” She said under her breath as she passed Elena’s door. Hopefully he would hear her. She wasn’t sure how he’d get in, so she left her window open. It was a few minutes before she finally felt the air shift. She looked up to see him sitting casually on her bed and thanked god that she’d already cleaned her room. “So?”

“It went as you said it would. Your sister decided to strike a bargain for the safety of you and your family and friends, among other things.” Elijah explained. 

Ellie walked over to sit next to him on the bed before turning and facing him. “What are the other things?” She inquired.

“It seems that Stefan Salvatore somehow managed to get himself stuck in the tomb with Katherine. It was your sister’s request that I get him out. I’ll have Luka and Dr. Martin break the spell that has them sealed in.” Elijah explained.

“Do they need me for that?”

“No, the two of them along with the full moon to draw power on should be more than enough.” Elijah assured her.

“Wait, what about Katherine? What are you going to do about her?” Ellie was surprised that she was actually concerned about the vampire.

“Katerina will stay exactly where she is.” Elijah told her. When she asked he would manage that, he added, “Being an Original vampire has its perks.” He didn’t really elaborate more than that. “But when Klaus arrives, he’s going to want to know exactly where Katerina is.”

Light from outside caught Ellie’s attention. She walked over to the window to see what it was, when the clouds moved, revealing the full moon. “Oh, it’s a full moon.” She commented idly. The realization hit her a moment later. “Oh my god. It’s a full moon.” She said as she spun around to face Elijah. “It’s the first full moon since Tyler triggered the curse he’s going to shift tonight and I’m not there to help him.” She said frantically. Elijah rose from his seat as she continued. “I have to find him. I have to help him. I-”

He cut her off by taking a hold of her shoulders. “You will do no such thing.”

“What?” She nearly shrieked. “Elijah he’s one of my best friends and there’s a chance that he’s scared and alone right now. I have to help him!”

His grip on her was the only thing that kept her from rushing out of her room to go find her friend. “Eleanor, listen to me.” He insisted. “A werewolf’s first transformation is his worst one. They don’t have any sort of control and  _ will _ attack anything that moves. You cannot run the risk of not being able to defend yourself.”

“I’m a witch! I can protect myself!” Ellie hissed. She was very aware of the other occupants in the house.

“A werewolf when in shift isn’t in his right mind, Eleanor. He won’t recognize you as his friend, only as a possible threat. If he sees you as a threat, he won’t stop until he kills you. Would you be able to really fight back if your life was on the line?” He questioned seriously. “Would you be able to hurt him to save yourself?”

Her stomach dropped at the thought.  _ Would  _ she be able to hurt him to save herself? “I…”

“I understand your desperation to help your friend, but I made a promise to you to keep you safe as much as I can. That means even from your own rash decisions.” Elijah told her before he gave her a look of sympathy. “I know you want to help your friend, Eleanor. But there is nothing you can do. Think about your friend. He would never forgive himself if he hurt you.”

Ellie froze. Elijah was right. If she got herself killed trying to help Tyler, he might never forgive himself. “What do I do?” She asked softly as she looked up to Elijah in desperation.

“I’m afraid that there’s nothing you can do for him right now.” Elijah told her regretfully. Her fierce loyalty to her friends was surprising. The threat to her own safety had meant nothing to her. It was only when he reminded her of how her friend would feel did she stop. She was obviously panicked and worried for the wolf. He didn’t think that she was aware that she was shaking. She would most definitely be a more useful ally than he had originally anticipated.

She stood there silently but he did not release his hold on her. He very much intended to keep his word to her. He’d keep her safe as long as he could, even from herself. This was one thing he could protect her from and so he would. The image of Henrik danced around in his mind. A thousand years later and he could still remember the last time he saw his brother alive. The image of Henrik’s dead body and the way Klaus screamed was still burned into his mind. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to forget that day. “I just want to help him.” She said softly.

“I understand.” Elijah replied. “But getting yourself hurt isn’t going to help him.”

“You’re right.” Ellie finally agreed. 

Finally, Elijah released his hold on her. “Just go to sleep. You can figure out how to help your friend tomorrow.” Elijah instructed. Ellie moved away from him to sit back on her bed. “Are you going to be alright?”

“Yeah.” Ellie told him, but he didn’t necessarily believe her. “Thank you.”

“I have to be going.” Elijah told her. “I have a promise to keep to your sister.”

She nodded slightly. “Ok. Thank you for keeping your word to Elena.” Ellie replied and when she didn’t seem to be giving any more of a reaction, he disappeared out of the window. What Ellie didn’t need to know was that once he had the younger Salvatore brother freed, he’d returned to the Gilbert resident to make sure that she didn’t do anything reckless like trying to find the young wolf.

Elijah could see the light from Ellie’s room from where he stood. He could see her pacing in her room and bouncing back and forth between activities in an attempt to distract herself. Eventually, he watched as she drank her tea in the kitchen before she made her way back up to her room. After she switched off her light, he made his way closer to the home until he could hear the sound of her breathing until it evened out. Elijah even went so far as to wait a while after she was asleep to make sure that she would stay that way. If he made a promise, he was going to keep a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts or if you have any questions!
> 
> Posted: 9/5/20


	31. The Descent

**Chapter 31: The Descent**

_ March 31, 2010 _

Ellie didn’t sleep well that night. Her dreams were filled with Tyler screaming and pained howls of a wolf. Finally, she jolted awake and couldn’t go back to sleep, so she dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. Once she was dressed and ready, Ellie packed up what she needed. Jenna stopped her before she could leave however. “Jenna?” Ellie asked as she allowed Jenna to pull her into the older woman’s bedroom. “What’s up?”

“I don’t know how to be around Elena right now.” Jenna confessed.

“Why do you think I’d been avoiding her and Jeremy for days? I didn’t know what to say to them. I didn’t know how to act. All I could think about was the lies that they told me. I just wish they would have told me. The only reason Jeremy even knows is like because Damon killed him or whatever the reason is.” Ellie told her. “Jenna, I avoided them like the plague. I’ve hardly spoken to anyone.”

“This is insane.” Jenna huffed. “When did our lives become freaking Twilight?”

Ellie choked on her laughter. “That, my darling aunt, is a very good question that I don’t have the answer to.” Ellie informed her. “But we’re going to be just fine. I promise you.”

Jenna nodded as she relaxed slightly. “So where are you heading to?” She asked curiously as she gestured to the bag Ellie had.

“Just taking some stuff to a friend.” Ellie replied. “They’ve been having a rough few days.”

“That’s nice of you.” Jenna said. “Oh, by the way, if that writer guy, Elijah, sends someone to get those files today can you let them in to get it? My thesis advisor is insisting to see me in their office because  _ of course _ my latest version isn’t up to standards by their definition. I swear I will be so freaking glad when I graduate. This back and forth is tiring.”

“Your thesis advisor is an ass.” Ellie said bluntly. “But yes, I will make sure that whoever comes to pick up the stuff for Elijah will be able to get it.”

“Thank you.” Jenna said gratefully before she glanced at her watch. “Ugh, ok, I have to get going, but I’ll let you know if Elijah calls me.”

Ellie let Jenna pull her to her feet. “Ok. I should probably head out too.” Ellie replied. They made their way downstairs and headed out. Ellie opted to lock the door while Jenna pulled out first. Jenna drove in the direction of her school while Ellie pulled out and headed for the woods. She would have to make the first with Katherine quick so that she could get to the school in time. The drive was quick, and the trek to the tomb had quickly become familiar “Katherine?” Ellie called as she made her way down the steps.

“Mmm, wasn’t sure you were coming back.” Katherine called as she made her way to the entrance. The vampire looked to be in surprisingly good shape. “Looks like I’m still stuck in here.”

“I brought you things to try and help pass the time.” Ellie offered as she passed the bag to Katherine. “I’m sorry you’re still stuck in here.”

Katherine shrugged. “Nothing I can do about it now that Elijah’s here.” She replied as she opened the bag to search through it. “Apparently he’s made a deal with Elena to get Stefan out and I got left in here.” She seemed annoyed by that. “He actually left me in here.”

“Stefan?”

“Mmhmm. He likes to pretend that he didn’t love me once.” Katherine told her. “He loves to pretend that he hates me.” She scoffed loudly. “Tell me, Ellie, if he hated me so much why did he feel the need to stalk you and Elena when he realized that you both looked like me? Why would he fall in love with Elena if he hated me?”

Katherine made a good point. Ellie hadn’t even thought about it. Why  _ would _ Stefan follow them around the way that he did? It was definitely in the stalker territory. But they’d have also been dead without him. She didn’t really know what to think about Stefan. From the actions she knew of, Stefan was a good guy. But Katherine was right too. “Yeah.” Ellie said finally. She didn’t know what else to say. It was something that she’d have to think about.

The vampire went about her usual routine of brushing her teeth and doing what she could to clean the filth off her skin. Ellie had turned out to be far more interesting that she had originally anticipated. She had expected for the young girl’s personality to be like Elena’s, who was as dull as dishwater. This one, however, was much more a Petrova. Had they been sisters when Katherine had been human, she could see them having been close. 

When Ellie had made her first appearance down in the tombs, Katherine would have never expected sympathy from her. Elena had most certainly not cared that Katherine hadn’t wanted to die, nor did she care that Katherine had to carry the grief of being responsible for her family’s murder. Her father hadn’t been the best man, but her mother and sister had been angels. She could still remember her sister’s dedication to protect her and the baby from their father’s anger. They had managed to go quite some time without him knowing of her pregnancy. In the end it hadn’t mattered. He took her baby and banished her.

The fact that Elena and Ellie were alive was proof that her daughter had lived and had a child of her own, at least one. Did her baby look like her? Or was she all her father? It was painful, even now, to linger on those thoughts. Her daughter had to be long dead, and she was in no position to grieve. It would show weakness, and that would get her killed.

She watched as Ellie sat down, lost in the thought. Maybe she liked the other Gilbert because Stefan wasn’t in love with her. Katherine would admit that she was curious to see how much of a Petrova the girl in front of her actually was. “How did Stefan wind up stuck in here anyways?” Ellie asked curiously.

Katherine winced, not where the other girl could see it though. She was sure that Ellie wouldn’t take to her feeding on Jeremy well. Ellie raised an expectant eyebrow, so Katherine confessed, “Your reckless brother decided to try and come in here to get the moonstone from me. I was hungry.”

The revelation hit Ellie like a brick wall. Katherine had hurt Jeremy. It shouldn’t surprise her, Katherine had killed Caroline and made her a vampire after all. “You fed on him?” Ellie asked in shock.

“He’s fine.” Katherine told her. “He had his little magic ring on. Given, that only takes effect if I killed him, which I didn’t. He’s fine. And I feel great. You shouldn’t be surprised.” Katherine reminded her. “You should know by now that I will do anything it takes to survive.”

Ellie did know that. She just didn’t like that Jeremy had gotten hurt in the process. An alarm sounded from Ellie’s phone and she groaned. She really wasn’t in the mood for school today, but she wanted to check on Tyler. The full moon last night couldn’t have been easy for him. “I have to get to school.” Ellie replied as she forced herself to get back up. “I also brought back the book you were reading before I had to take the stuff. Your bookmark is still in place.” 

She left without another word. It wasn’t like she knew what to say anyways. By the time she arrived at school, her thoughts were swimming like they always were these days. Everyone was outside and helping set up for the barbecue. It was probably the easiest day of the school year. The students came and would help set up the stations as a few people got to work cooking the food. If she was right, Alaric would actually be one of the ones making hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill.

While it was mandatory for the boys to wear their football jerseys, the cheerleaders could decide whether or not they wore their uniforms. Ellie had opted out because the weather was far too cold, in her opinion, for a short skirt and tank top that did absolutely nothing to protect them from the bite of the wind. She went and signed in on the attendance sheet her first period teacher gave her before strolling around the parking lot.

Relief washed over Ellie when she spotted Tyler. The amount of weight that lifted on her shoulders had clearly been far greater than she’d realized, and the young witch had to brace herself against one of the school buses to keep herself steady. As she recovered, she watched as Caroline approached Tyler with a smile. It was noteworthy, because in all the years she’d been friends with the two of them, they’d never been particularly close.

In that instant, she wished more than anything that she could have the ability to have supernatural hearing the way her two friends did, but as far as she was aware, she’d not come across a spell of that nature. Caroline spoke brightly to Tyler as Ellie observed them. The blonde was sincere in whatever she was saying to them, but Tyler seemed like he was trying to keep her from getting too excited. Whatever Caroline said, it got Tyler to laugh and smile at her warmly. Ellie had never seen them interact that way before. A moment later, his features were colored with confusion. “Hey Caroline, you got a second?” Matt called as he approached the duo.

Tyler backed away from Caroline. It looked incredibly awkward before Tyler eventually walked away from the duo. She wanted to stay and see whatever was going to happen between Caroline and Matt, but she still couldn’t shake away the worry she had for Tyler. So instead, she moved away from the buses and followed after the young werewolf. “Hey, Ty!” Ellie called as she rushed to catch up with him.

He spun on his heel at her call and gave her a bright smile. “Hey, Ellie.” She hugged him tightly, and she didn’t miss the way he flinched slightly at the force of it. The reaction was similar to the way he reacted when she hugged him if he’d over done it on workouts and his sore body was protesting as a result. “What was that for?” If she didn’t know him as well as she did, his feigned nonchalance would have been convincing.

For now, she let him believe that it had. “Can’t a girl hug her best friend?” Ellie asked with faux offense. He shot her a look and she sighed dramatically. The best lies were always the ones with the most truth. “I had a funky dream.” She confessed. “Like you were hurt or something. You know how my dreams can freak me out sometimes.” He seemed concerned, but she thought it might have been more of his fear that she somehow knew than her having a nightmare. “Don’t you remember after we watched Halloween and I had nightmares for a week of Michael Myers chasing me through the woods?”

That got a laugh out of him. “He literally walks everywhere, Ellie. If he caught you then you’re severely out of shape.” Tyler mocked.

“Shut up! We were like nine! We shouldn’t have been watching them anyways.” Ellie huffed as she refrained the urge to shove him. While she knew he wasn’t at his best, it was a relief to see him. She had feared that he would be far more injured than what he currently was. “Come on, if we’re lucky, we can get Alaric to give us some food before everyone else.”

She still wasn’t excited about trying to interact with people that had lied to her for so long, but her fear over Tyler’s safety had overruled her worry about that. It had also been a bit easier to get over how she felt about some people’s decisions as opposed to others. As far as she could tell, the majority of the secrets Alaric kept were due to Elena wanting them to stay out of it. Maybe it also helped him earn her forgiveness when it was so obvious that he was kind of in love with Jenna. “Alaric?” Tyler asked curiously.

“He’s dating Jenna, so I guess that gives me and Elena and Jeremy the ok to be on a first name basis with him.” Ellie shrugged.

* * *

Ellie had been wrong, unfortunately, and Alaric had not been on grill duty like she’d thought he’d be. But luckily for her and Tyler, Mr. James, the art teacher, had taken pity on them and their rumbling stomachs and gave them burgers as he watched the duo eye the food hungrily. After Tyler eventually left her at the call of some of his football buddies, Ellie found herself arm in arm with Luka. He was definitely avoiding Bonnie, but Ellie wasn’t sure that it was because she’d nearly killed him. “Do you guys do this every year?” Luka asked before he took a sip of his drink.

“Yeah, typically we do. Can’t remember who came up with the idea though.” Ellie confirmed. “Really a lot of students get here on time and then they’ll eat and leave. I don’t think the teachers particularly care as long as you’re not obvious about it.” She informed him. “So, you wanna tell me about what’s going on that has you avoiding Bonnie like the plague?”

Luka flushed with embarrassment. “You noticed that huh?” He asked as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. “It’s nothing, really.” He denied.

“Nothing, huh?” She asked suspiciously. “Doesn’t seem like nothing.” He still looked awkward, so she added, “Luka, you’re one of the few people that I’m actually talking to at so, fess up.”

He sighed heavily before confessing, “I just don’t like lying to Bonnie. She seems nice, and she asked me to help remove the spell from the moonstone. I lied to her and said that we did so that she’d give me the moonstone. I just feel bad is all.”

“Is that what Elijah wanted you guys to do?” Ellie asked curiously.

“Well, he didn’t say it exactly, but he wanted the moonstone. The how wasn’t really important as long as we got it.” Luka admitted.

Ellie nodded along as they moved to sit away from everyone else. “So why exactly are you and your dad working for Elijah anyways?” Ellie questioned.

“I don’t really know if I’m supposed to tell you, but my sister was taken by Klaus. Elijah told us if we helped him, he’d help us get her back. So that’s why.” Luka explained with a shrug of his shoulders. “Elijah’s honorable, he’ll keep his word to us.”

“Why did Klaus take your sister?” Ellie asked as she took care to keep her voice low. The last thing they needed was for the vampires to overhear them, because she still wasn’t sure how far away they could be and still hear her.

Luka looked sad talking about it, and felt bad for him. It couldn’t be easy losing a sibling. Even if she was pissed at Elena, she could never imagine really losing her. “I don’t know, honestly. Maybe he just wanted her because she was a witch. I just don’t know.”

She gripped his hand tightly. “You’ll get her back.” Ellie assured him. “I’m sure of it. And I’m sure she’s fine.”

He gave her a soft smile and squeezed her hand in return. “Thank you. I hope you’re right.” He replied. They sat in silence for a while before their conversation returned to normal. It was a while after they went back to their normal flow that Ellie’s phone began to ring. She had been zoned out watching some of the cheerleaders as they practiced their flips, so Luka gently nudged her. “You gonna answer that?”

“Oh, shoot yeah. Thanks.” Ellie replied as she answered the call. “Hello?”

_ “Hey, Ellie!”  _ Jenna greeted brightly as she answered the phone.  _ “Ok, so, do you think you can head home to get those boxes for Elijah? He called and said he was available to come get them.” _

“Yeah, sure. Uh, tell him I’ll be at the house soon, I’m headed there now.” Ellie replied. She knew she could text him herself, but Jenna didn’t know that.

_ “Ok, great! I’ll talk to you later, Ellie.” _ Jenna said gratefully.  _ “I owe you one.” _

“More like a thousand.” Ellie joked before hanging up the phone. “Ok, so I gotta go, I have to do stuff for Jenna.”

Luka gave her a warm smile as they both stood. “Alright, have fun with that.” He said with a laugh. She gave him a quick hug before making her way to her car.

She sent Elijah a text letting him know that she would be home soon and that she’d let in whoever he was sending. Well, maybe not let them in, maybe she’d just bring the boxes out to them. She didn’t want to risk accidentally letting in more vampires to her home. When he didn’t respond, she assumed that he’d read it and not felt the need to reply. When she arrived at the house, she was surprised to see him standing there leaning against his car. Even she could admit that he looked like he’d stepped straight out of a GQ magazine. He was opening her door before she even got the chance to try. “Hi.” She greeted as she gave him a surprised smile.

“Hello, Eleanor.” He replied as she stepped out of her car. 

Elijah shut the door for her before following her up the steps and into the house. “Uh, do you actually want these boxes for something?” Ellie couldn’t help but ask as she instinctively went about the process of making tea. All her time with Sheila had made the routine something she couldn’t quite shake, even if she wasn’t actually wanting tea at the moment.

“I do.” He agreed as he shrugged off his coat. He knew that it would be best if he had the girl’s genuine trust and respect, not just her desire to keep her family safe. To do that, he needed to make sure he didn’t accidentally intimidate her. The circumstances under which they met weren’t exactly the best ones.

“Tea?” She questioned as she gestured to the kettle.

“That would be nice.” He confirmed as he took a seat at the table. The boxes that Jenna and Ellie had pulled out last night were still sitting on the table, so he helped himself to the first box and began pulling things out to read through them.

“Why do you need this stuff?” Ellie asked as she poured their tea. She set the cup in front of him before she took the seat beside him and began reading the papers he was holding. He had to admit, it was impressive that she was not more afraid of him. Most wouldn’t dare get that close to him, even if they were working together. But, she didn’t seem frightened at the proximity as she closely read through what he held.

“I’m looking for information.” He explained as he took a sip of his tea.

“You know, it would probably go faster if you told me what you were looking for so that I can help.” Ellie informed him bluntly. It took her by surprise to see the corner of his mouth quirk up into a small, amused smirk. The more time she spent with him, the less intimidating he seemed. She knew he was very capable of killing her and just about anyone that crossed him, but he didn’t seem unstable. 

“Thank you, but I’m quite capable of this. If I’m wrong, you’re the first person I’ll ask for help.” He replied and, since Elijah seemed quite content to sit at the kitchen table and read, she pulled out her homework and got to it. The silence was comfortable as they worked and she refilled their cups absentmindedly. His attention was split between the papers he was reading and the witch beside him. She was drumming a beat onto the table with her pencil as she worked through her math problems. Realization struck him with a reminder that he’d promised to help her with her magic, and he could do more than just introduce her to Luka and Dr. Martin. “You know, I did promise you assistance with your magic.”

His casual tone caught Ellie’s attention before she processed what he said. “I thought that’s what Dr. Martin and Luka were for?” Ellie asked curiously as she turned in her chair to face him. “I mean, other than whatever you need them for.”

“They are. Dr. Martin is an excellent teacher and is good at what he does, but I do have grimoires that they’ve not had access to. They may provide you with beneficial information if you would like to take a look at them.” He offered.

It was surprising how bright her eyes became at the offer and she straightened up. “Really?” She asked. “What kinds of grimoires? What’s in them?”

“I haven’t spent much time on reading them if we’re honest, but you can read through them if you’d like.” Elijah told her. 

She grinned brightly at him. “I would like that.” She told him sincerely.

“If you would come with me, I can take you to the grimoires. I’m sure it wouldn’t go over well with your sister if she came home to see me here.” Elijah reminded her.

“Ok.” Ellie agreed easily. There was no indication that he had a hidden agenda and she had no reason to not trust him. “Should we take some of these boxes? Jenna would probably find it strange if nothing had been moved when she got home.” Elijah nodded and rose from his seat as Ellie took their teacups and placed them in the sink. He grabbed several boxes as she packed away her things, but she managed to get the door open for him so that he could get out to his car. Ellie brought her backpack with her as she followed him out the front door. “Is that all the boxes you want to take?”

“I can always come back and get more once I read through these.” He assured her and she locked the door as he packed them away in his trunk.

She was no longer surprised when he opened the passenger door for her before she could even try. He was a thousand years old after all, some habits must have stuck. “Thank you.” She replied as she slid into the seat. He was in his seat before she buckled her seat belt. Ellie reached and flicked on the radio before she remembered that she wasn’t with Caroline or someone else. “Oh, sorry.” She said as she went to turn it back off.

He waved the apology off. “Play whatever you want.” He assured her and after she stared at him for a long moment, she turned the radio to a familiar station and tapped her foot along with the beat of the song. She watched their surroundings with interest. Wherever he was going, it wasn’t a direction she normally went.

After a while, they pulled up to a fancy looking apartment complex. “Where are we?” She asked as she stepped out of the car.

“Not far from Mystic Falls.” He assured her as he closed her door. She waited as he picked up a stack of the boxes like they weighed nothing, and she vaguely wondered how strong vampires actually were. “Follow me.” He told her and she did so without hesitation. Her breath caught in her throat at how expensive the lobby alone looked as they walked in. Elijah nodded at the woman at the front desk and Ellie couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the way the woman blushed.

They stepped into the elevator and she watched as he pressed the button to take them to the top floor. That view couldn’t have possibly been cheap. She followed him down the hall and he produced a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He held it open for her, allowing her to walk in first. When she stepped through the door, her jaw dropped. The apartment was stunning. “Wow.” She said softly as she eyed the expensive furniture. It looked like it came straight out of a magazine.

“The grimoires are over there on the bookcase.” Elijah told her as he tilted his head to a large bookcase. She placed her book bag down next to the door before making her way to the bookcase. It was absolutely filled to the brim with books. Some of them looked so old that she was certain if she touched them they’d just crumble beneath her fingers. “They’re on the bottom shelf.” He called.

Her gaze dropped down to the bottom shelf and immediately spotted the difference in the way these books were bound. Somehow, they just screamed grimoire to her. “Thank you!” She replied as she carefully pulled out the first book.

“I’m going to get the rest of the boxes from the car, feel free to make yourself comfortable.” Elijah told her before exiting from the apartment. Once he was gone, she gave herself a moment to really look around the apartment. It was stunning with high vaulted ceilings and chandeliers. There were large windows that filled the room with sunlight since the curtains were pulled back. It was impressive that the place felt expensive without feeling fake.

Knowing that he would be back soon, Ellie stood from where she’d been crouched down and made her way to one of the couches. When Elijah returned, he spotted her on the couch and she was clearly focused on the tome she held in her hands. She didn’t even look up when the boxes dropped heavily onto the table. He removed his jacket once he dusted himself off before placing it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs.

Elijah had not expected how easy it would be to work while she read through the books. She hadn’t seen, but his lips had quirked up into an amused smile when she’d found something interesting and rushed to her backpack to pull out a pen and paper. But she didn’t disturb him while he worked, and for whatever reason, he didn’t see the need to keep his guard up as they worked silently. Maybe he’d be able to gain her trust after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok guys, I have a question that I would really appreciate your feedback on. This story is going to be incredibly long, and it's going to need to be split into parts. I want to know when you guys think that it should split. I haven't yet finished writing season two but it's already over 200K words. Let me know what you guys think in the comments, and as always, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> Posted: 9/12/20


	32. Daddy Issues

**Chapter 32: Daddy Issues**

_ April 1, 2010 _

Ellie woke up in her own bed, though she had no recollection of coming home from Elijah’s. She couldn’t help the blush that colored her cheeks when she realized that it meant that she must have fallen asleep at his place and he'd simply brought her home instead of waking her. Once she shook away her embarrassment, she went about her normal routine of getting dressed. She could hear Jenna laughing from her room and felt herself relax when she heard Alaric laughter as well. She had gotten over being upset at the older man for lying by now, and she was glad that Jenna hadn’t cut him out. When she opened her bedroom door, Jenna was also coming out of her room. “Good morning.” Ellie said with a grin. “Seems like someone is in a good mood.” She joked.

Jenna rolled her eyes at her niece before linking arms with her. “Maybe I am.” Jenna shot back. “Either way I could  _ definitely  _ use some coffee.”

“You really can’t go a day without your coffee can you?” Ellie asked as she grinned up at Alaric as he walked behind them down the stairs.

“Hmmm…” Jenna said thoughtfully. “Nope!” The blonde seemed to be in a very good mood. She checked the watch on her wrist before rushing Ellie along into the kitchen. “Oh god, I’m late!”

“That’s what you get for hitting the snooze three times.” Alaric replied and Ellie laughed at Jenna’s expense.

The two of them stopped suddenly when they looked over to see John standing next to Elena. “What the hell?” Jenna asked in surprise as Ellie made a face at the older man.

“Good morning to you, Jenna.” John replied easily. “Alaric.” He shot the other man an unimpressed face before smiling at Ellie. “Ellie, it’s good to see you’re doing ok now.”

She didn’t respond as Jenna looked to Elena. “It’s ok I’m confused, right? Because we were not expecting you, like ever.” Jenna said and it was clear her good mood had taken a nosedive.

“Well, I got in late last night. Elena let me in.” John explained as he took a step closer to Jenna.

Ellie didn’t miss the way Elena glanced at John before shooting a look at Alaric. He didn’t miss a beat before he piped up, “Uh, you know, I’m probably just gonna take off.” Alaric stared hard at John before looking over at Elena before he finally made his exit. Was Ellie once again missing something that was important?

“I’m still confused here.” Jenna told them.

“Me too.” Ellie added as she crossed her arms.

“I decided to come back and stay for a while.” John informed them.

“Not here, you’re not.” Jenna told him bluntly.

John didn’t really seem to care what she said. “Actually, you can’t stop me from living here.” He replied and Ellie noticed the way that Elena was shifting in her spot. The thought of John living there with them was not a pleasant one.

“Actually, I can as legal guardian.” Jenna said.

“Yeah. About that, um Elena, you want me to explain the situation, or would you like to do the honors?” John asked as Elena ran a hand over her forehead.

“Ok. What’s going on?” Jenna asked.

Elena spoke first saying, “I’m sorry, Jenna. I should’ve told you earlier, but…”

“I’m Ellie and Elena’s biological father.” John told them and Ellie actually stumbled backwards into Jenna in surprise. “There. Now you both know.” He didn’t seem to care how that news effected Ellie as he brushed past them to walk off.

Ellie turned to her sister who looked guilty. “Elena, what? You knew that John, of all people, was our biological father and you didn’t tell me?” She asked as she dug her nails into the flesh of her palm. “How long have you known?” She could feel her magic bubbling below the surface and she knew that if she didn’t keep it in check, that she could do a lot of damage.

“Ellie, I…” Elena started but words failed her as she stared at her twin. Ellie wanted to scream. Even if Elena used the excuse that she was trying to protect Ellie from the supernatural, she had absolutely no right to keep the news about John from her.

Her phone started buzzing in her pocket, and she dropped her glare from Elena before reaching to get it. She pulled it out with shaking hands to see a series of text messages popping up from Tyler. His messages seemed frantic and upset and he was saying that he needed to see her as soon as possible and that he was about to be at her house. “I’ve got to go Elena, but trust me when I tell you that this conversation is  _ far _ from over.” Her voice was low and she forced her hands to stop shaking as she made her way outside.

Tyler was standing in front of her, hands shoved deep into his pockets and she wasn't sure if he was shaking from anger or from distress. “We need to talk, Ellie.” He said seriously as she stopped in front of him.

It was strange to hear him sound so serious. Surely he didn’t know about her? No one knew about her. “Ty, what’s going on?”

“Not here.” He replied as he moved to get into the driver’s seat of his car. She got in and barely had time to click her seat belt into place before he was speeding down the street. They drove in silence, which gave her plenty of time to note the way Tyler was digging his nails into his thigh. He also had a death grip on his steering wheel, and she wasn’t sure how much force a werewolf would need to use to break it.

Their arrival to the woods was unexpected. Out of all the places she expected him to take her so that they could talk privately, this wasn’t high on her list. “Where are we going?” She asked as she followed him out of the car.

“It’s not far.” He assured her. Ellie didn’t think that she was in danger, not in the slightest, but if she was, she had enough faith in her magic to defend herself from him without hurting him. It wouldn’t be a very difficult thing to do, not when he was human. He led her to some stairs that went into the ground, but they weren’t exactly like the ones that were built to the tomb where Katherine was trapped. “Down here.”

Had Tyler been in a lighter mood, she might have made a horror movie joke, but it didn’t seem the time. “Is everything ok? What’s going on?” Ellie questioned as he turned on a lantern to light up the place. Almost instantly, she noticed the scratch marks on the floor, as well as some equipment that looked like it was used by rock climbers. What was this place?

“There’s something I got to tell you, but I couldn’t tell you at your house, and I couldn’t tell you at mine either.” Tyler confessed ominously. She opened her mouth to question what he meant, but he blurted out, “Mason’s dead.” It felt like a punch to the gut, even though she already knew.

“What?” She choked. “How did you find out?”

It was the wrong thing to say and she knew it immediately. His expression shifted from one of sympathy and of pain, to suspicion. “Did you know too?” He asked accusingly. “Were you in on it?” His mood changed so suddenly it was almost enough to give her whiplash. “God first Caroline was lying to me and now you?” The betrayal in his voice cut deep.

“What does Caroline have to do with anything?” Ellie questioned. Caroline was a vampire, yes, but Tyler shouldn’t know that. Even if he did, surely Caroline didn’t know about what happened to Mason.

“She’s a freaking vampire, Ellie! What are you one of them too? Have you been playing me this whole time?” Tyler was so angry. “You’ve both been pretending to be my friends and you’ve been using me the entire time! How could you not tell me?”

He thought she was a vampire? “Ty… Tyler!” She yelled so that he could hear her over his own shouts. “What are you talking about? Tyler, I’m not a vampire.” He immediately stopped shouting and for a moment, panic danced across his features.

“Then how did you know that Mason was dead?” He inquired. “How long have you known?”

Elijah was going to kill her. If she didn’t tell Tyler everything, she ran the risk of him telling Caroline or someone else that couldn’t know her secret. She sighed heavily and confessed, “I read Elena’s journals. And I just found out and I didn’t know how to tell you.” At least that way, if he did tell Caroline, she wasn’t revealing her involvement with Elijah. “Ty, I’m not a vampire. Are you?”

“No, I’m not a vampire.” Tyler shot back. “Wait how do you know about vampires if you’re not a vampire?”

“How do you?”

He gave a dark look. “You can’t tell anyone.”

“Only if you promise to not tell anyone anything I tell you.” Ellie bargained.

“No one knows anything at all?”

She nodded. “Not a soul.”

“Deal.” He agreed. He braced himself before confessing, “I’m a werewolf.” After a moment of tense silence, his eyebrow quirked up. “You’re not laughing… or calling me insane?”

Ellie bit down on her lower lip before asking, “Truth time?” When he agreed, she confessed to already being aware of what he was, along with everyone else. It wasn’t her fault that Elena wrote absolutely everything down. It was a long conversation before she even got to the part of confession that she was a witch. Their conversation went similarly to the way her conversation with Jenna went. Some parts were more emotional for the both of them, especially where Mason and Vicki were involved. But by the end of it, Tyler swore not to tell a soul of what he learned from her, and with how pissed he was at the Salvatores, she didn’t doubt that he would keep his word.

“So you’ve been on your own basically this whole time?” Tyler asked softly after he’d had time to cool down. 

She hummed in confirmation before looking up suddenly, “Ty… Tyler I am so sorry that I wasn’t there for your first transformation. I wanted to be, but I didn’t know where you were and I didn’t know how to tell you and it killed me to know that you were going to be in pain and I couldn’t help you.” She said it in a rush as she gripped tightly at his hands.

“You wanted to be there?”

“Of course I did! Ty, you are so important to me, and the thought of not helping you when you’re in pain and there’s a chance that I can help, it just doesn’t sit right with me.” She confessed.

His eyes went wide in recognition. “Those nightmares you had about me…”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t blame yourself for that. I nearly hurt Caroline and she’s way faster and stronger than you. I don’t know if I would have forgiven myself for hurting you.” Tyler replied.

So Elijah was right in that regard, but he just mentioned Caroling being there. “Wait, Caroline was with you on the night you turned?” She asked cautiously. Didn’t Elijah say that a bite from a werewolf could kill a vampire?

“Yeah, she kind of walked me through it. She basically said that she was alone when she first turned and she didn’t want me to go through it alone.” Tyler explained. “Honestly, I’m glad she was there. I don’t know if I could have done it alone.”

Relief washed over her. Caroline, that beautiful, amazing girl. “Do you maybe understand now why I love her so much?” Ellie asked teasingly.

He rolled his eyes. “I’ll admit, she’s given me a lot of support and I needed it. But she also lied to me.” His good mood faded as he was reminded of the blonde vampire’s betrayal. “I hate Damon Salvatore.” He said sharply.

“Join the club. I hated him even  _ before _ I knew all the fucked up shit he did.” Ellie reminded him. They were going to be ok. At least, she hoped they were.

* * *

After Tyler finally dropped her off back at home, Ellie sent a text to Elijah letting him know that they had to talk and that it was important. Almost instantly, she received a reply telling her to come back to the apartment that he was staying in. As she was grabbing her keys, she could hear Elena on the phone with someone in her room. Her previous anger with Elena over yet another lie rushed back to the surface. Elena was lucky that she didn’t make the mistake of coming out of her room as Ellie was trying to leave.

The drive to Elijah’s was a blur but she arrived at the building with ease and as she rode the elevator up, her fingers drummed out an anxious pattern on the back of her phone. Hopefully Elijah wouldn't be too angry. Once she arrived at his apartment, she knocked nervously. “Hello Eleanor, come in.” He said politely as he stepped aside so that she could walk it. He could hear her heart pounding in her chest before he ever opened the door. Whatever she wanted to speak with him about had her nervous.

“Hi.” She replied as she stepped further into the room. For a long moment, he watched as she anxiously tugged on the strap of her bag as she tried to figure out what to say.

“Is everything alright?” He asked curiously. He hadn't seen her look this nervous since the day they met and she thought her life was in danger.

Ellie started to say something before she stopped. He watched as she braced herself before confessing, “Tyler knows about me.”

His eyes widened slightly in surprise. “He what?”

“Tyler, the werewolf, he confronted me about his uncle’s death and I said the wrong thing and he’s not stupid and so he started questioning me and he thought that I was a vampire and that I had betrayed him and that I was using him and I didn’t know what to do so I basically told him that I found everything because Elena wrote it in her diary and that I wasn’t a vampire I was a witch and basically begged him not to tell anyone.” She said it all in a rush. Had it not been for his vampire hearing, he might not have caught it all with the speed she was speaking at.

He didn’t miss the way that her hands were shaking slightly as she explained. It didn’t take a genius to realize that she was afraid that he would be angry at this turn of events. “Will he be a problem?” Elijah asked.

She stopped fidgeting as she snapped her head up to look at him. “Huh?”

“Will he be a problem?” Elijah repeated it calmly.

“I… uh, no.” She stumbled over her words before collecting herself. “No, he won’t be a problem. He feels betrayed by Caroline and he’s filled with too much hate for Stefan and Damon to say anything to them right now. He won’t tell them.” Ellie confirmed. “Elijah, I am so sorry. I messed up, but I didn’t know what else to do and I never felt right about lying to him when it came to his uncle’s death.”

Ellie was genuinely afraid of his reaction. That was the last thing he wanted from her. He needed her trust, which meant he needed her to trust that he wouldn’t overreact when things happened that weren’t in her control. If he blew up and lost his temper on her, it could cause irreparable damage to her trust in him. It would do neither of them any good. And if he were honest with himself, if he lost his temper on her, he would feel too much like his father. “Eleanor, it’s alright.” He assured her.

“You’re not mad?” She asked softly.

“I have no reason to believe that you would intentionally do anything to put our agreement into jeopardy.” He explained. “Am I to assume that this turn of events has just happened?”

“Yes. I came here as soon as I wasn’t with him.” Ellie confirmed.

He nodded. “I value your honesty with me. I’ll be keeping a closer eye on the boy to make sure that he doesn’t change his mind about keeping your secret, but given the circumstances, you’ve handled the situation well.” Elijah watched as the tension drained out of her. “Would you like some tea?”

Ellie grinned slightly as she nodded. “That would be nice.” He made his way to the kitchen as she followed behind him before she dropped into one of the seats at the table. He made the chamomile tea quickly before placing a cup before her and taking the seat across from her. “Thank you.” She replied before taking a drink of her tea. She smiled to herself in satisfaction. The tea was just how she liked it.

They sat in silence as they drank and while she no longer looked nervous of his reaction, he could see that something was still bothering her. It might not have been his place, but he was aware that it would be better to have conversations with her that were more than just about what they were planning to do. “Is everything alright?” He asked. “You look like something is bothering you.”

Had she been so obvious? Was she really that easy to read? “It’s nothing, really.” Ellie replied, but even to her own ears, it sounded like a lie. He raised an eyebrow in response. “It’s just sibling bull crap.” She added. “Elena lied to me about something she had no right to lie about.”

“Something other than all the secrets she’s already keeping?” Elijah asked curiously.

Ellie nodded. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but Elena and I are adopted. She found out who our biological father was and she didn’t tell me.” Ellie explained. “God our biological father is literally our uncle, who no one really likes, but she’s  _ known _ for who knows how long and she didn’t tell me.”

She sounded so frustrated. “I’m sorry.” He told her genuinely. “It was wrong of her to lie to you about such a matter.”

“But she doesn’t  _ get it _ , Elijah. It’s like there’s this disconnect with her. She found out we were adopted and just dropped that bomb on me when she was using it as a way to get out of trouble with Jenna. She didn’t even have the decency to tell me first and then she completely refused to tell me how she found out. Even if I understand why she does some of the stuff she does in regards to the supernatural business, she has no right to keep secrets like that when it comes to our biological parents.” Ellie ranted slightly. “I’m sorry. It’s really not your problem.”

“It’s alright. Keeping things pent up isn’t going to help you any.” Elijah told her. “But is there anything I can do to help?”

Ellie considered the offer for a moment. When it came to Elena making stupid decisions, he couldn’t do anything about that, but maybe he could help her learn how to protect herself from other supernatural creatures. “With Elena, no. But do you have any grimoires that go into details about other supernatural creatures and how to defend against them? After I found out about vampires and werewolves, I went through the grimoires I already had. Not a single one referenced supernatural creatures other than ghosts and other witches.”

Elijah rose from his seat and she followed beside him as he led her over to the bookcase where all the other grimoires rested. “It’s not entirely surprising that that’s the case. If your teacher was trying to protect you from knowing about other supernatural creatures, there’s a chance that she intentionally gave you grimoires that didn’t reference them. Throughout history, not all witches were aware of all the other supernatural types, especially if they lived in a secluded area. It is the same way in the sense that some vampires don’t believe that werewolves exist because they’ve never encountered one and they think that it’s just a made up story. Or the way that some vampires are unaware of the existence of The Originals. If they’ve never encountered it, they might not believe it to be true.”

“That makes sense.” Ellie agreed as he knelt down to find whichever particular grimoire he was looking for. “Just out of curiosity, how do you know which ones to get?”

From the angle she stood at, she could just barely see the amused upturn of his lips. “I might not be a witch, but I’ve skimmed through these so that I can point my witches in the right direction should they not have the resources that they need to perform a task. Even if I hadn’t read them at all, a great deal of witches have encountered vampires and werewolves, which means they tend to have spells to defend against them.” He pulled three large grimoires from the bottom shelf. “These have a lot of information on protection from other supernatural creatures, both defensive and offensive. Most likely, you’ll encounter far more vampires than you do werewolves, but these grimoires have a lot of information on both.”

“Thank you.” She said gratefully as she took them from him.

“You are, of course, more than welcome to stay here while you read if you do not wish to be at home.” Elijah offered kindly.

He was somewhat surprised to see the way she absolutely beamed at the offer. Her earlier anxiousness at his reaction was long gone and she seemed to be at ease in his presence once more. “I would like that.” She replied warmly as she made her way to the large armchair and sunk into it.

* * *

It had been a long time before Ellie realized that the day had faded into night. She might not have realized it at all had it not been for the sharp sound of Elijah’s ringer. “Hello.” Elijah answered the phone as he sat up slightly straighter. “What?” His tone was sharp as he replied, “Take care of it. Go and get the girl and make sure to tell the wolves that they need to get the hell out of this town.” He nodded along to whoever he was speaking to. “Get it done and notify me when it’s over.”

He hung up the phone before returning it to the table beside him. “Elijah, what’s wrong?” She asked worriedly as she closed the grimoire. “Did something happen? I thought the only wolf in town was Tyler?”

“Werewolves tend to travel in packs, like regular wolves. If they find out one is alone, a pack will go out of its way to bring in the lone wolf. This is especially true when the werewolf is brand new. How they came to be aware of your friend, I don’t know, but there’s several of them here now.” Elijah explained. He seemed reluctant to tell her the next bit of information. “It seems they’ve taken your friend Caroline hostage in exchange for the werewolf.”

It felt like he had stolen the air from her lungs and her chest constricted painfully. “What?” She choked out. “Oh my god, what do we do?” She asked as she rose from her seat. “She could be hurt!” The thought of something happening to Caroline was enough to make her way to vomit.

“Dr. Martin is taking care of it.” Elijah assured her as he too rose from his seat to keep her from running off. “I have faith in his capability to save your friend. He’s on his way to where she’s being held now and will contact me as soon as it’s done and she is safe. I have every intention to keep my word to both you and your sister.”

Ellie was aware that she was shaking, but she couldn’t stop it. Once again, she felt powerless to save someone that was so incredibly important to her. “I couldn’t take it if I lost her.” She said pitifully.

“You won’t.” He said it with such certainty that Ellie just nodded along. He didn’t stop her from pacing anxiously around the room. As she paced, he went and poured himself a drink. It wouldn’t be long before Dr. Martin would call him to let him know that it was done. Just as he thought, it wasn’t even twenty minutes before his phone began to ring again. “Is it done?” Ellie stopped moving as she focused on what he was saying. “Good.”

“Is it over? Is she safe?” She asked him as she dug her nails into her palms. When he nodded, the tension drained and she braced herself against the back of the couch to keep herself steady. “How did Dr. Martin even know that she was in danger?”

“They have precautions in place to make sure they’re aware if something were to happen.” Elijah explained but Ellie’s mind was still spinning as she tried to figure out what could have happened to Caroline.

“God I can’t even go and check on her because they don’t know that I know.” Ellie whined slightly.

“Whatever they did to her, she will heal.” Elijah assured her.

He watched as she ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “That doesn’t mean that she’s just gonna get over the emotional trauma of whatever happened to her. It’s not like she’s ever been held hostage before.” Ellie replied.

“Call her, check on her.” Elijah suggested.

“Yeah, yeah, I can just call her. She doesn’t have to know that I know anything.” Ellie agreed as she quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Caroline’s number.

_ “Hello?” _ Caroline answered just before it sent her to voicemail. Her voice sounded rough, like she had nearly lost it. It was similar to the way they’d sound after a football game from cheering too loud. 

“Hey, Care.” Ellie greeted warmly. “I just hadn’t really heard from you today and I wanted to check in.”

_ “Uh.. um, yeah I’m good. I just had a long day and I’m really tired.” _ Caroline lied.

“Are you sure you’re ok, Care? You don’t sound too good.” Ellie asked softly. “Do you want me to come over?”

There was a moment of silence before Caroline answered,  _ “No. I’m just really tired. I think I’m gonna shower and then just go to sleep.” _

“Are you  _ sure _ ?” Ellie asked again. Caroline hummed in confirmation. “Ok, you do sound really exhausted, just call me if you need anything.”

_ “I will.” _ Caroline told her.

“Promise?”

_ “Promise.” _ Caroline swore.

Ellie wanted to do something more, to say something more, but she was between a rock and a hard place. “I love you.” Ellie said softly.

_ “Love you too.” _ The call ended a second later.

Elijah rose and poured himself a glass of what looked to be bourbon. “How is she?” He asked curiously.

Even though she was sure he could hear Caroline, she responded anyways. “She’s not ok. She tried her best to not show it, but I know her better than probably anyone. She’s not ok.” Ellie said in defeat.

“She will be.” He replied confidently.

“Hopefully, but I think that maybe I should head home. It’s been a long day.” Ellie said to him.

The whole ordeal of the day seemed to drain her, so he nodded in agreement. “I understand. Let me walk you down to your car.” He offered as he picked up her bag for her. They walked in comfortable silence to where she had parked. When they arrived, Elijah unsurprisingly opened the door for her. “Let me know when you arrive home safely.”

“Thanks, Elijah. I will.” She promised. “I’ll see you later.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is coming a few hours earlier than normal, and I hope you enjoy! Please leave a comment and let me know what you thought!
> 
> Posted: 9/19/20


	33. Crying Wolf

**Chapter 33: Crying Wolf**

_April 2, 2010_

When Ellie had arrived home last night, Elena had been long gone. From what Jenna said, Elena had gone to spend the night over at Caroline’s. Had she not known what had happened to Caroline, she might have been a little bit offended. But given the circumstances, she understood. “Good morning sunshine.” Jenna greeted as she poured herself a coffee.

“Morning, Jen. Where’s John?” Ellie asked as she pulled out the stuff she would need to make eggs.

“Not here, thank god.” Jenna replied as she bit into her toast. 

Jenna looked somewhat lost in thought. “Is something wrong?” Ellie asked worriedly.

“It’s just Ric.” Jenna admitted. “Ellie, after John dropped that bomb, I sat there with Ric at The Grill and asked how someone could keep a secret that big, and he didn’t even say anything. I’ve been trying _so hard_ to act like everything is fine with me and him so that he doesn’t catch on that I know anything, but we have so many people lying to us.”

“I know, Jen.” Ellie agreed as she poured the eggs into the pan. “Honestly, you’ve done amazingly at keeping yourself together when it comes to being around them. I didn’t do nearly as well. If we’re honest, I came close on more than one occasion of actually fighting Elena.”

That got a laugh out of Jenna. “I shouldn’t be entertained by the thought. I should be a responsible adult and tell you that fighting doesn’t solve anything.”

“Except that sometimes it does.” Ellie shot back. 

Jenna grinned as Ellie flipped the eggs. “Oh! By the way, the Historical Society’s High Tea is today. Do you wanna come?” Jenna offered. Ellie made a vaguely disgusted face which got another laugh out of her aunt. “Elijah’s going to be there.” She said nonchalantly.

Maybe Ellie’s head snapped up a little too fast, but it was a knee-jerk response. “What does he have to do with anything?” She asked.

“Oh nothing, you just seemed to get along really well.” Jenna replied but she gave Ellie a look that told her exactly what her aunt meant.

“He’s _nice_ , Jenna. Of course I get along with him.” Ellie informed her. It was frustrating that she couldn’t tell Jenna about her involvement with Elijah, but she’d have to suck it up for now. Really, she’d only known him for a little over a week, and when they met, she thought that he was going to kill her. So it’s not like that’s the smoothest way to start a friendship.

“Well, he’s really the guest of honor for the whole thing. Since he doesn’t know a lot of people in town, maybe he’d like it if you were there.” Jenna suggested.

As Ellie passed Jenna a plate with her food, she huffed. “You’re not gonna give up until I agree are you?”

Jenna tilted her head to the side as if she were in thought. “Hmmm… nope.” She confirmed.

“Fine, fine, I’ll go. If anything, I’ll just steal some of those fancy breadsticks Mrs. Lockwood always has at those events.” Ellie said before she threw a piece of toast at Jenna’s smug face. “I can still change my mind.”

“Don’t mind me. I didn’t say anything.” Jenna replied. “But, if you’re gonna go, you should probably start getting ready soon, it starts around like brunch time.”

Ellie made a face but nodded as she quickly ate her food. “Alright. I’m going before you can use up all the hot water.” She said as she swallowed the last bite of food.

“I take offense to that!” Jenna called as Ellie ran up the stairs.

“Don’t hog the hot water and I wouldn’t have to say it!” Ellie yelled back as she made her way into her room to get her things. It didn’t take long to shower and dry her hair. She and Jenna shared the master bathroom as they did their hair and makeup. “How dressy should I be?”

“Uh… just one of your normal dresses should be dressy enough.” Jenna told her as she finished applying her mascara. She stepped into her bedroom and swore. “Shit! Ellie you almost done? We’re about to be late if we don’t leave soon.”

Leaning out of the door slightly, Ellie saw the time and cursed under breath as well. “Yeah, yeah, five minutes tops. I just have to finish my mascara and change.” She replied as she quickly finished her makeup before rushing back to her room and pulling on a cute, but simple, pink dress. Once she secured her heels, she grabbed her bag and rushed from her room. “Ready!”

“Alright, let’s move out!” Jenna said as they rushed down the stairs and out the front door to the car. The drive was filled with easy conversation between the two as Ellie tried to keep her aunt’s mind off of all the secrets they were now having to keep. The last thing she honestly wanted was for Jenna and Alaric to break up. It was clear that her history teacher was head over heels in love with Jenna. She could only hope that Jenna could forgive him for keeping secrets from her.

When they pulled in, there were far more cars than Ellie had expected there to be. “Christ, do people actually like coming to these things?” Ellie asked curiously.

Jenna scoffed as they got out of the car. “I think everyone just wants a chance to sink their claws into the fancy new writer. It’s not like stuff like that ever happens in this town. I mean, who would want to write a book about Mystic Falls, anyways?”

“Fair enough. Honestly, the majority of the people here are the people that literally don’t have anything better to do. Or they were roped into it by Mrs. Lockwood and she’s too scary to go against.” Ellie commented. A lot of the older people in the town loved to come to these types of events. And Mrs. Lockwood was _very_ good at convincing people that they should be in attendance.

They had only been in the building for a couple of minutes before they were found by Mrs. Lockwood. “Ellie! I didn’t know you were coming today.” Mrs. Lockwood said warmly. “It’s so nice to see young people take interest in participating in community events. Jenna! You look so nice. I’m sure I saw Alaric around here somewhere.”

“You look amazing as always Mrs. Lockwood.” Ellie replied.

“Thank you honey. Now, you two have been helping out that writer that’s come to town, right?” Mrs. Lockwood asked, even though she was the one that pointed Elijah in their direction originally.

“Yes, he’s been going through my sister’s old records.” Jenna confirmed.

Mrs. Lockwood gave her a smile. “That’s good. I actually haven’t had the chance to meet him in person and I’m not entirely sure what he looks like. Do you think you could lend a hand and help me spot him? With so many people to have conversations with, I’ve not had much of a chance to look for him.”

“I’m sure Ellie could help you with that. I think I see Alaric and I need to talk with him.” Jenna replied quickly. “Right, Ellie?” 

When Mrs. Lockwood couldn’t see, Ellie subtly glared at her aunt before grinning at Mrs. Lockwood. “Of course, if he’s already here, I’ll spot him.” Ellie assured her as Jenna made her quick escape to Alaric.

“So how are you? I haven’t really had a chance to speak with you since the… the crash.” Mrs. Lockwood stumbled over mentioning the crash. Ellie wasn’t sure if she stumbled because Ellie had been hurt, or because Tyler had been the one driving.

“I’m much better.” Ellie assured her. “Thank you for asking.” They got stopped by one of the old men in attendance. She didn’t pay the slightest bit of attention to whatever he was talking about, but she did notice that even Mrs. Lockwood looked bored. She scanned through the crowd trying to find Elijah. After a minute, she finally spotted him entering the room. “I’m so sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I’ve spotted Elijah.”

Mrs. Lockwood looked relieved. “Oh, if you’ll excuse us Mr. Fell, I need to speak with Mr. Smith.” She said as she nodded before she followed Ellie over to where Elijah was picking up a drink.

When he noticed their approach, he grabbed another glass before passing it off to Ellie and handed a drink to Mrs. Lockwood before taking one for himself. “It’s nice to see you again Ellie.” Elijah greeted as he smiled at her.

“Good to see you too Elijah.” She replied with a smile of her own as she introduced the two. “Elijah, this is Mrs. Lockwood, she’s currently working as mayor. Mrs. Lockwood, this is Elijah Smith, the writer.”

Mrs. Lockwood put on her most charming smile. “It’s wonderful to finally put a face to the name. I hope your time in Mystic Falls has been productive so far.” She told him.

“It definitely has. Ellie and her aunt have been very helpful in my research.” Elijah praised.

“I knew they’d be the ones for the jobs.” Mrs. Lockwood agreed. “Have you spent much time in Richmond for your book? There’s such a wealth of history there.”

“No. I’m focusing mostly on the smaller regions of Virginia. Lots of research. Strictly academic.” Elijah explained.

“That’s fascinating” Mrs. Lockwood replied sincerely. Ellie spotted Jenna but frowned when she spotted Damon approach her. Ellie frowned as she watched Jenna’s reaction. Her aunt tensed slightly, but it was more obvious when she saw a woman approach and kiss Damon. Wasn’t that one of Jenna’s friends? Jenna forced a smile as she greeted the other woman. “Ellie, don’t you agree?”

She jolted slightly at her name. “Hmm? I’m sorry I missed what you said?”

“Don’t you agree that we also have a very interesting history for our little town?” Mrs. Lockwood asked.

“Oh absolutely. Elijah, did you know that there was a Civil War battle right here in Mystic Falls?” Ellie supplied.

“I did not.” He replied. “Such a historic event is an impressive feat.”

The young witch couldn’t help but groan as Damon approached. “Damon.” Mrs. Lockwood said as he approached. “What a surprise.”

“Carol.” He replied as he leaned forward to kiss her cheek.

“Hi. Elijah, I want you to meet Damon Salvatore. His family is one of Mystic Falls’ Founding Families.” Mrs. Lockwood introduced.

“Mmhmm. Pleasure to meet you.” Damon said, though everyone except Mrs. Lockwood knew it was fake.

“No. Pleasure’s mine.” Elijah replied as he shook Damon’s outstretched hand while his other remained in his pocket. When had he put his drink down?

“You know, I’ve been meaning to get a word with you Elijah. Do you mind coming with me to have a chat?” Damon asked with fake politeness.

“Oh, that’s fine. I need to speak with Dr. Jones.” Mrs. Lockwood agreed. “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, Ellie.”

Ellie moved to follow the two vampires when Damon turned around. “We don’t need an audience.” He said sarcastically. Ellie was about to insult him, when she felt Elijah carefully touch her wrist. She looked up at him and could see that he had a plan. So instead of arguing she just nodded. “Off you go.” Damon added and with a roll of her eyes, she walked away.

What Damon didn’t realize is that she followed them discreetly, and as they entered the room, Elijah shot a pointed look at the space beside the door and the message to wait there came through loud and clear. As she looked around the room, she noticed John and Alaric having a conversation of some sorts, and Alaric looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. John just looked like an asshole. She startled slightly when she heard Damon yell and looked around to see if anyone noticed. Thankfully, everyone seemed blissfully unaware. “Eleanor!” Elijah’s voice rang from the other side of the room.

She stepped inside and quickly shut the door behind her when she spotted Damon doubled over with a pencil lodged inside his neck. Ellie would admit that it was very satisfying to see him bleed after all the horrible things he’d done to the people she loved. “What the hell?” Damon groaned as he looked up at her before pulling out the pencil from his neck.

“I’m an Original.” Elijah said as he produced a handkerchief. “Show a little respect.” He offered the white cloth to Damon, who took it with a yank. “The moment you cease to be of use to me, you’re dead. So you should do what I say.” He said before smiling. Though he spoke calmly, both Ellie and Damon were aware that he could kill Damon in an instant should he choose to do so. “Keep both Elena and Eleanor safe.” Elijah said as he turned to walk to Ellie. “Oh, and next time, don’t be so foolish as to leave a doppelgänger behind with an Original when you’re trying to protect them from an Original.” He said sarcastically.

Ellie couldn’t help but grin as she pointed out to Damon, “I think you’ve got a bit of blood there. I think maybe you need to change.” It was so satisfying to not be the one caught off guard this time.

“Eleanor.” Elijah said as he offered his arm to her. She took happily as she let him lead her from the room, before shutting the door behind them.

“So we’re telling them I know now?” She asked curiously as they walked through the room.

“Niklaus could arrive at any time if even one person let the knowledge out that there’s not one but two doppelgängers here. Plus, it will do well to remind them that they never held all the cards.” Elijah said simply. “And they needed a reminder that your sister isn’t the only one they’re supposed to be protecting.”

* * *

After the High Tea finally ended, Ellie and Jenna were quick to go home and change into things that were more comfortable. “Hey Jen! I’m gonna go out for a bit.” Ellie called as she pulled her hair up into a quick ponytail.

Jenna exited from her bedroom as she stuck a pencil behind her ear. Between that and her messy bun, it was clear that Jenna had been deep into school work mode. “Where are you going?” Jenna asked curiously as she stretched.

“I’m gonna go visit a friend. I’ve been helping them out with something they’ve been working on, and I need to go over some stuff with them.” Ellie explained.

“Ah, ok. Just let me know if you’re gonna be home late.” Jenna agreed easily. “I’m supposed to be going out with Ric at some point, so if I’m not here when you get back, that’s probably why.”

Ellie hoped that that meant that Alaric and Jenna were going to make things work. “Got it.” She agreed. “Have fun on your date with Alaric.” She winked dramatically at her aunt.

“Go away.” Jenna said with a huff, but her smile gave her away.

“I’m going. I’m going.” Ellie replied as she raised her hands up innocently. She made her way down the stairs and out the door before climbing into her car. She didn’t lie to Jenna. There were things that she and Elijah needed to discuss. Specifically, she needed to know the plan for killing Klaus. The drive had grown familiar already. It wasn’t particularly complicated. When she arrived, she parked in the same spot as last time and made her way up to Elijah’s apartment. It was only a moment after she knocked on the door that it opened to reveal Elijah.

“Eleanor, please come in.” He said as he stepped aside for her. “What can I do for you?” He asked politely.

Once the door was shut, she confessed. “I wanted to talk about what your plan is for handling Klaus.” She explained. “I know you said that you wanted to kill him, but why? What did he do? He’s your brother right? Listen, I’m pissed at Elena for all the stuff she’s done and all the things she’d lied about, but I don’t think that I could ever actually kill her. So what could he have done that was so bad, you think you’re capable of killing your own flesh and blood?”

Elijah’s jaw ticked slightly as he tightened it, and for a split second Ellie was worried that she’d gone way over the boundaries of what he’d allow. He took a deep breath, before nodding and walking over to where his drinks were. She followed him silently as she waited for his answer. As he poured himself a drink, Elijah replied, “Because he killed all three of our other siblings.”

Ellie’s heart stopped in her chest as she froze. Out of all the things she expected him to say, out of all the possibilities, she never expected that. “What?” she asked softly. Elijah hadn’t really spoken much of his family, except to explain that they were the Original vampires. She hadn’t even known how many siblings he had.

“What he did was a fate worse than death really. He trapped them within their own minds, put them into coffins, and dropped them into the ocean. He left them there to rot for all eternity without them ever knowing the relief of death.” Elijah’s voice was measured carefully and she knew he was trying to keep himself calm. “I have to murder him. I have to get justice for the siblings he has taken from me.” 

No matter how hard he tried, Ellie could hear the pain in his voice. The thought of losing Jeremy, especially because of Elena, made her want to vomit. She wasn't sure she could handle losing him, either of them. “Elijah, I’m so sorry.” She told him sincerely as she squeezed his arm. Even though they weren’t anything to her, there was a painful ache in her chest at the thought of the grief he must have felt losing them.

He was silent for a moment before he stepped away from her and her touch to walk towards the couches. “You and your sister will be the lure to bring Niklaus here. After the sacrifice, he will be at the most vulnerable he’s been in a thousand years. That is when I’ll kill him.”

Her heart lurched painfully in her chest at the word ‘after’. “What do you mean, _after_ the sacrifice?” Ellie questioned.

“Once the sacrifice is complete he'll be weak and vulnerable. It is the only time that it would work.” Elijah told her.

“Elijah you said _after_ as in _after_ the doppelgänger has been sacrificed.” Ellie said as she tried to keep her voice steady. “As in _after_ either Elena or I die.”

He finally seemed to understand why she was distressed and explained himself. “Five hundred years ago, when Niklaus intended to sacrifice Katerina, I discovered a means to save her life. A group of witches offered me a solution, a potion of sorts. It’s intended use was to be consumed before the sacrifice so that it would bring Katerina back from the dead once it was over.” 

Her legs nearly gave out underneath her as the pressure dissipated from her chest. “You mean to tell me you’ve had a magic potion this entire time to bring one of us back from the dead and you didn’t think to mention it?” Her voice squeaked slightly as she moved to sit down. “You couldn’t have _started_ with that Elijah?”

The Original laughed slightly at her frustration. “My sincerest apologies, I didn’t mean to stress you out so much.” He apologized as he offered her the glass in his hand. She downed it in one go and didn’t even flinch at the taste. “I gave you my word that I was going to try and protect both you and your sister, I’m still trying to keep that promise.”

“Do you think that it’ll still work? It is five hundred years old.” Ellie asked as she ran a finger over the rim of the glass.

Elijah nodded. “I have no reason to doubt it. I mean, it was a spell that turned me into a vampire one thousand years ago, and it still works. The spell on that tomb lasted well over a hundred years even after that witch died, yes?”

“Yes.” Ellie confirmed.

“Eleanor, I give you my word that I believe that it’ll work.” Elijah promised and it soothed the nerves that were bouncing around in her stomach. “But, if it will bring you a better sense of security, feel free to all of the grimoires I own, as well as the ones that the Martins own to try and find a backup plan.”

The offer actually did make her feel better. It also helped to give her a sense of purpose in what Elijah even wanted her for in the first place. “Thank you.” She told him and she rose to go over to the grimoires before pausing. “But Elijah, what if you can’t kill him? What if you can’t make yourself kill your own brother?”

He didn’t look at her for a moment. After it passed, he looked up at her from where he sat. “That’s not an option that I have.” He confessed. His expression was pained, so she didn’t press it. She couldn’t imagine that that was an easy decision that he came to. Had the decision come after he’d had a chance to process his grief? Or had it come in the midst of it? How long ago had he lost his other siblings? How could Klaus trap his siblings in their own minds to keep them locked in a coffin in the bottom of the ocean? What had their siblings done to deserve such a punishment?

It wasn’t the time to ask him those kinds of questions, so she pushed them to the back of her mind as she pulled out a grimoire and her ever handy notebook. She took a seat on the couch as she began to read. The young witch hadn’t even been aware that Elijah had moved until he sat down on the other end of the couch with a stack of files in hand. She smiled to herself at the comfortable silence before going back to her work. Hopefully, whatever he was looking for would get his mind off the tragedy that was his siblings’ fate.

She lost track of time as she worked slowly and methodically through the grimoires, looking for anything that could help her with a backup plan for either her life or Elena’s. Her phone’s ringing cut through the silence and she pulled it from her bag to see Alaric’s name flashing on her screen. “Hello?” She questioned curiously as she answered. Alaric had never called her before, but with him being involved with Damon, and Damon now being aware that she was working with Elijah, it didn’t really surprise her.

 _“Ellie!”_ Alaric said in surprise. Had he not expected her to answer? _“Hey, do you think you could swing by the Boarding House? I need to talk to you about everything.”_

She spared a glance to Elijah and he just shrugged. Taking that as a sign that he didn’t mind whatever she decided, she replied, “Why? So Damon can try to kill me?”

Elijah laughed at her sarcasm and she grinned back at him. _“What? No, Ellie, he’s not going to try and kill you. But there’s a lot going on and I think we need to talk about it.”_ Alaric told her. When she didn’t reply for a while, he gave a long sigh and said, _“Ellie, we messed up big time by not telling you about everything a long time ago. I should have done it, especially when the whole thing with Elijah happened. And I am_ really _sorry that I didn’t. But can you at least give me a chance to talk to you?”_

He sounded so sincere and she knew he loved Jenna. She knew that he cared about her and Elena. And to his credit, it wasn’t like she’d ever asked him anything and he’d lied to her face. No, that was Elena. She had also gotten over being upset with him a long time ago. “Alright.” She finally said. “I’ll head that way now, but if Damon does one stupid thing and I’m gone.”

 _“Deal, deal. Damon will be on his best behavior, I promise. I just wanted somewhere private where we could actually talk.”_ Alaric promised.

“Ok, I’ll be there soon.” Ellie agreed before she ended the call. Once she ended it, she gave Elijah a look. “So what do I tell them?”

“At this point, you might as well tell them everything. But if something goes wrong, let me know.” Elijah insisted as they both rose from their spots on the couch.

She nodded. “I will. I should probably get over there before I change my mind.” She told him as she gathered her things. “I’ll talk to you later Elijah.”

* * *

It didn’t take very long to get to the Boarding House from Elijah’s and she pulled into the drive hesitantly. She really didn’t want to be anywhere near Damon, but just this once she’d put it up with it, for Alaric’s sake. As she stepped out of the car, her gut warned her to get the hell away from the house. She didn’t trust Damon in the slightest, but she did trust Alaric. The majority of the building was dark as she stepped up to the front door to knock. It was answered immediately by Alaric. “You came.” He said.

“You sound surprised.” She commented.

“I wasn’t sure you’d actually come.” Alaric confessed.

“Neither was I. I don’t particularly want to be here, but I wanted to hear you out.” Ellie told him honestly. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, yeah yeah, come on.” Alaric replied as he stepped aside to let her in.

She took a good look at her surroundings. She wasn’t sure she had ever actually been in the Boarding House before. “Is anyone else here?”

“It _is_ my house.” Damon sassed as he made his appearance.

“How’s the neck?” She sassed back. “I’m not here for you. So where do you want to talk?”

Alaric led her to a large room with fancy couches and a large fireplace. “Ellie, what are you doing with Elijah?” He asked worriedly as they sat down.

“I’m trying to keep everyone safe.” She said simply as she kept a wary eye on Damon. 

“He’s dangerous.” Alaric insisted.

Ellie shot him a look of disbelief. “You’re gonna sit here and say that while we’re in the room with a man that killed you, killed Vicki, and killed my _brother_ and my biological mother, your wife in case you forgot.” She reminded him. “I am entirely aware that Elijah is dangerous. But he also is the best option at protecting the people that I care about. And unlike some people in this room, he hasn’t killed anyone I cared about.”

“Fair enough.” Alaric conceded. “But Ellie, you have no idea how dangerous the situation is.”

With a scoff she asked, “And who’s fault is that? Everyone thought that it was perfectly fine to leave me clueless when how many lives are in danger? Listen Alaric, I really don’t want to have an argument right now because I’m sure Elena is gonna have something to say to me. So why am I here?”

Alaric looked at her for a moment and it was suddenly startlingly clear how exhausted she was. They had messed up a great deal by not telling her. Was this how Jenna would feel when he told her the truth? “I don’t want to argue with you, Ellie. I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

“There’s a thousand year old vampire that wants either me or Elena dead. I’m not safe. But I definitely wasn’t any safer not knowing what was going on.” She reminded him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Elena thought it would be safer if you didn’t-” Alaric started.

“Last time I checked, Elena’s still a teenager. I’m still a teenager. But she shouldn't have executive power over who gets to know what. That was never her decision to make. You’re the adult Alaric, and you’re kind of this weird hard to describe father figure because you’re with Jenna and you were literally married to our mom. Did you think that I should know what was going on?”

“Yes.” Alaric answered without hesitation. “I’ve also wanted to tell Jenna.” He said truthfully. “The last thing I ever wanted to do was lie to her.”

Damon rolled his eyes from where he was sitting. “She’ll be fine.”

“Yes because not knowing is so safe and helpful. Tell me Damon, was it so safe and helpful not knowing that Katherine wasn’t in that tomb?” Ellie sassed and she watched as his bourbon glass cracked under the pressure of his grip. “That’s what I thought.”

Before she could process it, Damon had slung the bits of glass away and had her pinned to the wall as the glass cut into her neck. “Don’t you think for one second-”

She felt her magic zero in on Damon and watched as his face contorted in surprise and pain as he dropped to his knees. That pain infliction spell did come in handy after all. “Don’t _you_ think for one second that you can threaten me Damon. You‘re not the one holding all the cards here. Maybe next time use that brain that you supposedly have before you attack someone that is prepared for it.”

“You’re a witch?” Damon asked in disbelief as he choked.

As she released the spell, she cracked her neck. “It would seem so wouldn’t it? Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m gonna go clean my neck.” It was uncomfortable and kind of sticky and she could feel pieces of glass stuck into her neck.

“That’s a good idea.” Alaric agreed. “I think we should probably call it a night until everyone can be here to talk.”

Ellie nodded in agreement. “Fine by me. The more people are here, the less likely I am to murder him.” Damon looked like he was about to make a sarcastic comment and she cut him off before he got the chance, “Before you even think about saying something stupid, remember that you literally killed my brother because you were having a temper tantrum and I’m on the verge of killing you anyways. Do _not_ push me.”

Something in her tone must have been threatening enough to make him keep his mouth shut, even if he did roll his eyes in annoyance. “He’s not gonna say anything. Go get cleaned up.” Alaric encouraged.

“Yeah.” Ellie replied before walking in the direction that Alaric pointed her towards. The talk didn’t last as long as she was expecting, but she wouldn’t be surprised if it ended with her and Elena getting in a fight.

As she was in the bathroom, she heard Alaric call out, “Ellie, I gotta go, I’ve gotta pick up Jenna! Please don’t kill each other!”

“I’ll leave in just a minute! Have fun with Jenna!” Ellie called back in response. She had just walked out of the bathroom when she heard something crash down the hall. “What the…” She poked her head around the corner to see Alaric gripping a stake that was buried deep in his stomach. Damon moved to Alaric’s side as Alaric collapsed, but before he could do anything to help, someone dropped down from the ceiling. It happened so quickly. There was a brief fight before the unfamiliar man drugged Damon with something.

As quietly as she could, she ran upstairs to hide. There was grunting and groaning as glass shattered. Faintly, she could hear the unfamiliar man telling Damon that he was strong. “It took the whole syringe. Grab that one. He’s dead.” The thought of Alaric being dead made her heart drop with fear. Was he really dead? There was a woman’s voice as Ellie hid out of sight.

From what she could hear, they were tying Damon up with chains. As she went to text Elijah for help, she noticed a missed call and text from Tyler asking where she was. A reply was sent to Tyler asking what he needed before she sent a text to Elijah. Her phone started to vibrate and she looked down to see an incoming call from Elijah. She answered it but said nothing. _“Where are you?”_ His voice was low.

“Hiding.” Her voice was barely even a whisper.

 _“Stay hidden. I’m on my way.”_ Elijah told her and her breath caught in her throat at the sound of approaching footsteps. She turned down the volume of her phone and covered it so that any sound that came through from his end would be muffled.

“What are we doing anyways?” One guy was asking.

“Jules wanted to make sure that no one else was here. We don’t need any interruptions.” Someone else replied. They were almost past her hiding spot when one of them stopped. “What is it?”

The one that had stopped walking tilted his head head to the side and took a deep breath in. “Do you smell that?”

“Smell what?”

“Someone else is around.” Her heart was pounding violently in her chest as she prayed to anyone who was listening that she wouldn’t be found. The moment dragged on painfully as she waited. “Maybe I’m just smelling things.” They finally said. “Come on.” She listened as they started to walk away. Before she could even let out the breath she was holding, the door to the closet she’d been hidden in was yanked open. “Found you.”

Her magic burst out as they tried to get her, flinging them away the way it had Elijah. “You stupid bitch!” One of them cursed at her as she took off running.

“Shit.” She cursed as she ran. Going down wasn’t an option, she’d run into the rest of the people that had broken in. Her only chance was to go up. She could hear Elijah yelling into the phone, but the volume was so low that she couldn’t understand him. “Hurry.” She huffed out as she ran into a random bedroom and used her magic to move heavy items in front of the door.

There was a set of double doors that led out to a balcony that she made a run for. She pulled those doors closed just as the intruders broke through her barricade. She could hear them tearing through the room looking for her. The air shifted around her as a hand came over her mouth. Terror faded into relief at the sight of Elijah holding a finger to his lips for her to be quiet. “Check the balcony.” One of the men ordered and Elijah nodded at her and she let her magic drop so that they could open the doors.

Elijah didn’t hesitate. The moment the door opened, his hand shot out and ripped out the heart of the wolf that had chased Ellie through the house. The wolf’s eyes went wide in shock before he collapsed, and the other one suffered the same fate before he ever got the chance to run. “Are you alright?” Elijah asked as he walked over to the bathroom to rinse his hands of their blood.

She looked a little pale, but given that he just ripped out the hearts of two men in front of her. It didn’t really surprise him. “They killed Alaric.” She said softly as she walked over to him. “They’d got Damon tied up or something.”

He tilted his head as he listened to what they were saying. “They want the moonstone.” He said as he scoffed to himself. “Stupid werewolves.”

“But Damon doesn’t have the moonstone.” Ellie commented.

“No he does not. But I do.” Elijah said as he pulled out the moonstone from his pocket. “When you sent a text for help. I figured it would be the wolves that had taken your friend hostage. It wasn’t hard to figure out what they were here for. Now, stay quiet and follow me.”

She followed him as they made their way to the room where Damon was being held hostage. As they approached, she could hear a woman speaking to Damon. “You know what the great thing is about buckshot? It scatters through the body, maximum damage. Where’s the moonstone?”

“Get over it, honey. You’re never gonna get it.” Damon said lazily.

“You looking for this?” Elijah asked casually as he rolled the stone around in his hand. He was leaning against a beam like he was having an easy chat with an old friend. Ellie stayed at the top of the stairs as he walked down them, holding up the moonstone before placing it down on the table. He stepped away from it. “Go ahead, take it.” He told them. One of the werewolves rushed forward, but Ellie was prepared for the way Elijah ripped the man’s heart out. Two others tried to run, but they also lost their hearts. Damon gave an appreciative nod of approval. The girl disappeared as the last boy cowered down. “What about you, sweetheart? Huh? You want to take a shot?” He asked as he pulled the boy to stand. As he shook his head fearfully, Elijah asked, “No? Yes? No? Where’s the girl?”

“I don’t know.” Damon said calmly, like he hadn’t been getting tortured. “You know, witchy?”

“No clue. She disappeared.” Ellie replied

“It doesn’t really matter.” Elijah told them before he punched the wolf hard enough that Ellie could hear his neck snap. The violence made her feel sick, and she almost felt bad for that last one, but the werewolves had tortured Caroline. Elijah easily broke off Damon’s restraints. “So you realize this is the third time I’ve saved your life now?” Damon didn’t reply as Elijah turned and walked out of the room with Ellie following behind him. As they stopped by her car, he asked her once more, “Are you alright?”

He could see that she was shaking slightly, and she was terribly pale. There was a moment of concern that he had been too violent for her to handle. “I… I’ve been better.” She told him honestly. “I’m not exactly used to watching people get their hearts ripped out. But they also tortured Caroline, so I’m not exactly heartbroken that they’re dead.”

Elijah nodded as he wiped off the remaining blood onto a handkerchief. “I’m glad that you’re alright.” He told her honestly. To his surprise, when she’d sent a text asking for help, he’d been more than a little concerned.

“I’m glad you came.” She replied. “I didn’t want to hurt them.”

It was somewhat entertaining to him that she had been more concerned with hurting her attackers as opposed to being hurt. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that now. Would you like for me to drive you home?” Elijah questioned. She knew she probably looked as rough as she felt, so she handed over her keys without a fight.

“Thank you.” Ellie replied and she slid into the seat before Elijah shut the car door behind her. Once her seatbelt was clicked into place, she rested her head against the window as he started the drive to her house. If Elijah had wanted to say anything to her, he held his tongue. 

When they arrived at her home, he opened the door for her. “Get some rest.”

“I will.” She promised and by the time she got in the door, Elijah was gone. She’d only been in the house for a minute or two before someone knocked on the door. “Tyler?” She asked worriedly as she watched him shake.

“I messed up.” Tyler told her weakly. “I messed up so bad.”

“Ty, what happened?”

He pulled her back outside and sat down on the steps. “The pack… they wanted to know where you or Elena were, and so I found where she was. I didn’t know they wanted to kill her.”

“They wanted to _what_?” Ellie asked him.

“They said they wanted to find the doppelgänger to do the sun and the moon curse. They said that if we completed the ritual I would never have to turn again. I didn’t know that they wanted to kill her.” Tyler told her as his eyes watered. “If I had known, I never would have helped them. I’m so sorry.”

“Tyler…” She started but he pulled her into a hug to cut her off.

“I just needed to apologize to you. I’m not expecting you to forgive me for doing something that could have gotten you and Elena killed. I’m just... I’m sorry.” The way he was speaking felt more like a goodbye than anything else, but she didn’t know what to say as he pressed a kiss to her cheek before walking away. She stood there in shock as he walked away. Maybe it was the aftershock of watching so many people get murdered that kept her from going after him, but she didn’t.

Jenna opened the door after Tyler was out of sight. “Hey, I thought I heard you come in already.” She said as she took in the sight of her niece. “Are you ok?”

“I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.” Ellie said tiredly. “It’s been a really long day.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a comment and let me know what you thought!
> 
> Posted: 9/26/20


	34. The Dinner Party

**Chapter 34: The Dinner Party**

_ April 3, 2010 _

When she woke, Ellie still felt exhausted from the events of yesterday. She’d intended to tell Jenna everything about what had happened with the werewolves and Alaric, but it didn’t seem that she was going to get the chance. “Hey, Ellie.” Jenna greeted as she opened the door to Ellie’s room where the young witch was still curled in bed reading a book. “Wanna come with me to show Elijah around Mystic Falls?”

She knew Jenna offered in part because she thought Ellie’s reaction was funny, Ellie knew she needed to ask Elijah about whether it was ok to tell Jenna about her involvement with Elijah or not since Damon already knew. “Sure. After we’re done with Elijah, I’ll fill you in on everything that happened yesterday.” Ellie agreed as she pulled herself out of bed.

They joked around as they got ready and Jenna sighed as she forced several large rolls of maps into a sack to carry it. “Your mom had so much stuff for the historical society.” Jenna huffed as she pulled the large sack onto her shoulders. “Can you grab those folders for me?”

“Yeah. Are we ready to go?” Ellie asked as she double checked that they had everything.

Jenna nodded as they walked downstairs to leave. “Yeah, let’s go.”

As they got into the car, Ellie questioned, “So where exactly is Elena?”

“She went to the lakehouse with Stefan. She wanted to get away from John, and I couldn’t blame her for it, so I let her go.” Jenna explained but Ellie rolled her eyes.

“Don’t know why she felt the need to get away from him. She was the only one of us that already knew that he was our biological father.” Ellie huffed.

Jenna felt bad for her niece. She could never imagine Miranda lying to her about something like that. Was it worse for Ellie? It was annoying to know that her teenage niece had been lying to her, but Ellie and Elena had been so close growing up. Jenna could remember when the twins had been little, they loved switching with each other. Miranda had blamed it on The Parent Trap. When had they stopped being so close? Had it been after the crash? Or before? “How have you been dealing with everything?” Jenna couldn’t help but pry.

“With what?” Ellie asked.

“Everything with Elena. The whole, her keeping secrets from you thing.” Jenna explained.

The young witch groaned, but she knew it was better to answer honestly. Jenna was just concerned. “I’ve been upset with her for a while now, but until she knew that I knew, it wasn’t like I could say anything. I just don’t know how I’m supposed to talk to her when I know she’s not gonna listen. She’s just gonna think that she was making the right decision and that I’m overreacting or whatever.”

“Hopefully you guys can talk it out. You two have always been so close.” Jenna said as she tried to be positive.

They left it at that and before long they pulled into the parking lot where they were supposed to meet Elijah and he was already there, leaning against his car. She couldn’t help but grin, out of everyone she was currently associated with, he was one of the only ones she had no secrets with and one of the only ones she hadn’t fought with. “Hey Elijah!” Ellie greeted brightly as she walked towards him.

“It’s good to see you Ellie.” He replied. “I didn’t realize you’d be joining us today.”

“Well, I didn’t see why not.” Ellie told him. “I thought it could be fun. Maybe I’ll learn something new.”

He laughed. “Well it is always good to learn new things about where you come from.” Elijah agreed. “Well then, let’s get started.” Elijah walked between the two of them as Jenna led the group, explaining everything they came across. Some of it were things that Ellie already knew, others she’d not had a clue.

They’d been walking for a while when Jenna added, “The old Fell property actually starts just beyond that fence.” She pointed to the fence to their right.

“Ah, the Fells. One of ‘Founding Families’.” Elijah remarked as he picked at a thin branch that he’d picked up.

“Why do you say it like that?” Jenna asked curiously.

He looked entirely amused as he informed them, “My research showed me that this area was actually settled almost two full centuries earlier. It was a migration of townsfolk from the northeast, um, it was Salem, to be precise.” 

“Massachusetts? As in the Witch Trials?” Jenna questioned.

“Which means the ever lauded Founding Families didn't  _ actually  _ found anything.” Elijah said as he tossed his stick away.

“So you’re telling me that everyone was just full of crap and made a big deal over something that didn’t actually happen?” Ellie asked in disbelief.

“I believe it and I bet it was the men who made a big deal about being founders back in 1860. Men are very territorial.” Jenna said.

Elijah was looking off in the distance as he replied, “Yes, they are.” Ellie couldn’t help but grin as Alaric approached them.

“Uh, Elijah, this is my friend, Alaric Saltzman.” Jenna introduced and Ellie winced at him being referenced to as just her friend. Hopefully, after she spoke with Elijah, she’d get to tell Jenna about what was happening with Alaric and maybe mend their relationship a bit.

“He’s also my history teacher.” Ellie added.

Alaric looked a bit awkward, and a bit intimidated by Elijah as he told them, “Yeah, I got your message about walking Elijah here through the old property lines. I thought I would tag along. You know being a history buff and all. Where to next?”

“I’m pretty curious about the freed slave property owners.” Elijah explained before adding, “Some say, you know, the descendants of the slaves are the true keepers of American history.”

“Well, I only brought the surveys. I got that list in the car, just give me a sec.” Jenna said as she walked off.

Once Jenna was out of hearing range, Elijah said, “Alaric Saltzman. So you’re one of those people on Ellie and Elena’s list of loved ones to protect.”

“So is Jenna.”

“You don’t have to be jealous. I don’t really pursue younger women.” Elijah said and after Alaric tensed slightly, Elijah grinned and said, “It’s a joke Ric, lighten up.”

“Right.” Alaric replied.

Elijah patted Alaric on the shoulder as he passed him and Ellie couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you enjoy making people uncomfortable?” She laughed lightly as they walked towards Jenna.

He was grinning as he replied, “Only when they’re so easy to rile up. They should know better than to doubt my word when I said no harm would come to anyone on your list or Elena’s of loved ones to protect.”

“Speaking of Jenna, I need to talk to you about some stuff when we get the chance.” Ellie told him, but she didn’t have the opportunity to explain as Jenna and Alaric approached them.

“Alright, I’ve got that list of freed slaves property owners, there aren’t that many but let’s get started.” Jenna said.

After a while, Alaric eventually left and the awkward tension finally lessened. It had been a great surprise to Ellie to find out that the house where Emily and all the other witches were happened to be one of the houses that were owned by freed slaves. When they had been walking back, Jenna was cut off mid sentence by the ringing of her phone. She gave them a long suffering sigh as she said, “It’s my advisor.”

“Ew. Do they seriously not have anything better to do?” Ellie asked as she scrunched up her nose in distaste.

“Apparently not. I’m sorry Elijah, I’ll try to make this quick.” Jenna apologized.

“It’s fine. Take your time.” Elijah assured her. Jenna answered her phone as she walked away from them. “Now what did you want to speak with me about?”

“I want to tell Jenna about you, and my involvement with you.” Ellie replied. “And if you were ok with it, and I explained everything to her and why I had to keep this from her, she’d understand where I’m coming from.”

“Do you think it’s wise?” Elijah inquired as they strolled through the old property close to where they were parked.

“If Elena and the others tell her before I do, they’ll turn you into the bad guy for her. The big scary Original to be afraid of. If I get to tell her first, then I can make her understand that you are our best shot at keeping me and Elena and everyone else alive. She’ll be grateful that you’re trying to protect us.” Ellie told him. Out of everything that she had questions about, this wasn’t one of them.

Elijah contemplated her request. Thus far, she hadn’t been wrong about any of her assumptions on how her aunt would react. He had no reason to doubt her instincts now. Plus, if anything were to go wrong, he could always compel her aunt to forget it. “Alright. She might as well given that the others know now.” He agreed.

“Thank you!” She said brightly as she grinned. “On that note, when I am inevitably confronted by them, what am I allowed to tell them?”

“I suppose whatever you need to tell them, but no specific details. The last thing we need is them taking our plan and using it against us somehow.” Elijah told her. She nodded in agreement. She didn’t trust them to not do something stupid, Damon especially.

“You got it. I’m just glad I get to tell Jenna.” She said honestly as they walked back.

Jenna looked annoyed as she replied to her advisor. “Yes, I am making the changes that you reminded me of. Yes, I will have the newest revision sent to you by next week. Thank you for everything.” She looked anything but grateful. “Alright, bye.” She sent them a smile as she finally hung up her phone. “I can’t wait to graduate.”

“Me neither. At least once you graduate you’ll not have to deal with them again.” Ellie reminded her.

Jenna looped her arm through Ellie’s. “You’re absolutely right. How about we go to The Grill?”

“It’s where everyone goes to eat in Mystic Falls.” Ellie explained as they started walking towards it.

“So, Elijah, did you find any of this helpful today?” Jenna asked curiously.

“I did, as a matter of fact. Thank you very much for taking the time to show me around today.” Elijah replied. The three of them fell into an easy conversation and he held the door open for them as they walked into The Grill.

She had been in a good mood until she heard Damon call out to them in greeting. “Hey, guys.” Jenna replied as she walked over towards them.

“Ew.” Ellie groaned as she shot Elijah a look.

“So I hear you two had quite a meeting of historical minds today.” Damon said and it was easy to hear the suggestion in his tone. Was he trying to mess with Alaric?

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Jenna agreed as she smiled at Elijah and Ellie.

Alaric looked just as awkward as he had earlier. “Well, as much as I’d love to continue this, I’ve got papers to grade.”

“No, you know what, we should continue this.” Andie suggested. “Let’s have a dinner party.”

Damon smiled at her. “Ooh, my girl. Full of good ideas. I’ll be happy to host. Say tonight, maybe?”

Andie nodded in agreement. “It’s good for me. Jenna?”

“Oh, I don’t know if tonight works.” Alaric started to say.

At the same time, Jenna replied, “I’m free.”

“It’d be a pleasure.” Elijah agreed.

“Great.” Damon told him.

It was clear that Damon had something planned, but she couldn’t figure out what. “Ok, well, if that’s all settled, I’m gonna go. I’m not particularly hungry anymore.” Ellie replied.

* * *

Jenna, despite not being very fond of Damon at the moment, had somehow managed to convince Ellie to go over to the Boarding House early to help set everything up. With everything basically ready food wise, Ellie found herself in a ridiculously fancy dining room setting up the table with Jenna and Andie. “So what’s… what’s going on with you and Alaric?” Andie questioned. “I feel like there’s some tension.”

“I don’t know.” Jenna replied. “I really like him. It’s more than like.” She laughed at her confession and Ellie grinned at . “And I want it to work, but I can’t help but feel that he’s hiding something from me. And then I’ve got John whispering things in my ear about him.”

“Like what?” Andie asked.

“Jen, you know better than to listen to John. he’s an asshole.” Ellie reminded him.

“Things I don’t want to believe. Things I don’t believe, not if they’re coming from John’s mouth.” Jenna corrected as she smiled.

Andie smiled back at her. “Oh, well, there you go then. Trust is the key to any relationship. I mean, I am so grateful that Damon tells me everything.” Ellie couldn’t help but make a face. If she were honest, something seemed weird about Damon and Andie’s relationship. “What about you Ellie?”

“What about me?” Ellie asked as she placed down the last of the plates.

“I mean, I know Elena has had boyfriends, but what about you?” Andie asked as she set down the cups in the correct places.

Ellie thought about it for a moment before finally saying, “Guess I just haven’t found the right person.”

Jenna, the wonderful woman she was, picked up on Ellie’s discomfort and said, “Why don’t we go get some wine?”

“Oh yeah! Ok, follow me.” Andie said as she led them downstairs into the basement. As they headed to the wine cellar, because apparently Stefan and Damon had one of those, Ellie spotted a deep freezer randomly placed in a room filled with junk. She managed to lag behind without being noticed and opened it silently. It was only somewhat surprising to see it was filled to the brim with blood bags.

That could come in handy for future reference, in particular for Katherine. But for now, she closed the lid and rushed after Jenna and Andie. When she made her way into the cellar, she wouldn’t have denied that she was quite shocked to see the amount of wine they actually had. “Hey, where’d you disappear to?” Jenna asked as she approached her niece.

“Oh, I got a text, the signal down here is a little bit wonky.” Ellie lied easily. “Find any good wine?”

“I’ve found lots of good wine. I just don’t know which one to choose.” Jenna said a bit helplessly. “Andie, do you think you could go get Alaric for assistance?”

“Sure! I’ll go get him.” Andie agreed.

Once the news reporter was out of sight, Jenna gave her a look. “What were you really doing?”

“Snooping.” Ellie confessed. “They have a freezer filled to the brim with blood bags. Which, honestly, is a little bit reckless of them to have it to where anyone could get into it.”

“Gross.” Jenna responded as her nose crinkled. “I just hope Andie doesn’t get hurt.” Ellie nodded in agreement before Jenna asked, “Is everything ok? You look like something’s bothering you.”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. There’s just some stuff I need to talk to you about.” Ellie admitted.

Jenna gave her a soft smile as they moved along the room. “Ok, we’ll talk after this dinner is over.”

Alaric appeared as they turned the corner, nearly startling both of the girls. “Andie said you needed my help picking wine.”

“Yes! We don’t have nearly enough expertise to know how to pick between this much wine.” Ellie informed him as they moved through the cellar. “Also, is it really necessary to have  _ this much _ wine?”

Alaric looked incredibly amused at the question. “The Salvatores have always had an eye for the finer things I guess.” He said as he reached up to pull down a bottle. The girls watched as he inspected the label and informed them, “This should go well with everything. We’ll probably need a couple though.”

“Most likely.” Jenna agreed as she took the bottle from Alaric so that he could pull a couple more down. “That should do it. Let’s get back up there then.” They had just put down the wine when the doorbell rang. It was surprising to hear that it actually sounded like a little bell as opposed to the regular sound of a doorbell. Jenna opened the door with a smile, expecting it to be Elijah, only to roll her eyes when she saw John standing there. “Who invited him?”

“John. Surprise. Leave.” Damon said and Ellie snorted in amusement. She didn’t like him, but he was a little more tolerable when he was irritated with John as well.

Unfortunately, John wasn’t fazed. “When Jenna told me she was coming to a dinner party for Elijah, I decided I couldn't miss out on all the fun and games.”

Jenna walked off as John gave her a smug smile. “There’s not going to be any games tonight, John. it’s just a family friendly dinner party.”

“Right.” John said disbelievingly and Ellie groaned as she walked away.

She went and looped her arms around Jenna’s shoulders as she sighed dramatically. “Murder’s a bad thing right?”

“I think we could make an exception.” Jenna huffed as she glared at the back of John’s head. “Do you think if I glared hard enough, I could make him burst into flames?”

“If you can’t, I can.” Ellie reminded her.

Jenna’s eyes went wide at the reminder. “That may come in handy. Hopefully Elijah gets here soon. The sooner this dinner party is over, the sooner we can get away from John.”

They continued to set everything up as they waited for the guest of honor to arrive. Someone must have felt pity for Jenna and Ellie, because the doorbell rang once more. “I’ll get it.” Ellie said as she went to the door. When she opened it, she grinned at the sight of Elijah. “Good evening, Elijah.”

“Good evening, Eleanor.” Elijah replied just as warmly. “Damon.” The tone of his voice shifted to something that was much cooler than what it had been before.

“Thank you for coming. Please, come in.” Damon greeted.

Elijah made no move to come inside. “Just one moment.” Elijah informed him and Ellie stepped closer towards the Original on instinct. “Can I just say that if you have less than honorable intentions about how this evening is going to proceed, I suggest you reconsider.”

“No, nothing. Nothing dishonorable. Just getting to know you.” Damon insisted.

“Hmm. Well, that’s good.” Elijah replied with a small smile as he stepped inside. “Because, you know, although Elena and I have this deal, if you so much as make a move to cross me, I’ll kill you and I’ll kill everyone in this house. Are we clear?”

He was incredibly serious, and both Damon and Ellie knew it. “Crystal.” Damon agreed.

Elijah’s focus shifted towards the living room and Ellie watched as he smiled. “Jenna. Wonderful to see you again. How are you?”

“Nice to see you.” Jenna replied.

“You look incredible.” He complimented. “You both do.” Ellie felt heat rise to her cheeks when she realized he was also speaking to her. “Beauty clearly runs in the family.”

“Thank you.” Jenna and Ellie replied as they headed towards the table. Thankfully, everything went well so far. The food had turned out perfectly, the wine went with the food, and everyone seemed to have a good time. As Jenna poured more wine, she said, “I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town.

“Hmm, do tell.” Damon encouraged.

“Well, as I mentioned to Jenna and Ellie earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s. Over the next hundred years they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution.” Elijah explained as he cut his food.

“Because they were witches.” Jenna added and Ellie grinned at the sight of her slightly tipsy aunt. She was still definitely in her right mind, but she’d had just enough alcohol to be in a feel good mood.

Andie replied, “Yeah, but there’s no tangible proof there were witches in Salem.”

“Andie’s a journalist. Big on facts.” Damon told them, and if Ellie didn’t know any better, she’d say he actually sounded kind of proud.

Damon gave Andie a proud smile as Elijah responded, “Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighboring settlement. So these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned.” Ellie winced at the thought. It was a terrible fate to imagine. “Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by the fire. Could you pass the uh…”

Ellie passed him the salt he nodded at. “I wouldn’t repeat this to the historical society.” Jenna advised as they all laughed.

“It’s starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me.” John commented.

“So why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?” Damon inquired.

“You know… a healthy historian’s curiosity, of course.” Elijah replied.

“Of course.” Damon repeated. She could tell he was trying to get a read on Elijah, but he should have known that it wouldn’t work. The silence didn’t last but a moment or so before Damon asked, “Would anyone care for some Cognac? I have a bottle that I’ve been saving for ages.”

Alaric was the first to respond as Damon stood. “None for me thanks. Nine bottles of wine is my limit.”

Everyone else began to stand as Andie suggested, “The gentlemen should take their drinks in the study.”

“I have to say the food was almost as wonderful as the company.” Elijah complimented and Ellie, along with Jenna and Andie, grinned in response.

“I like you.” Andie commented before Elijah went to follow Damon.

“Jen, I’ll be right back. I’m going to the bathroom.” Ellie called as she walked after the two vampires. She’d intended to go into the room with them, at least, that was the plan before her phone started to ring. Luka’s name was displayed on the front and she answered quickly. “Luka, hey, what’s up?”

_ “Did you know?” _ Luka asked her sharply. His anger took her by surprise.

“What?”

_ “Did you know?” _ He repeated.  _ “What they did to me! They did something to me and I don’t know what they did!” _

Ellie was more than a bit confused. “Luka I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who? Who did what to you?”

She could hear him suck in a shaky breath.  _ “Bonnie. I was at The Grill yesterday and she asked if I wanted to play pool and gave me a drink and then it’s just nothing. I don’t remember anything except waking up unconscious in a bathroom stall.” _

“What?” Ellie asked in shock. “Look, where are you? I’ll come to you and help you figure it out. Luka I swear I don’t know what they did to you.”

_ “I’m at home. My dad’s not here yet.” _ Luka told her.

“Ok, ok, give me just a second and I’ll be on my way.” She promised before she hung up. She found the room Elijah and Damon were in easily enough. “Elijah I have to go.” She told him.

Her tone of voice must have given away that something was wrong by the way he immediately shifted to stand even straighter than he already was. “Is everything alright?”

“I don’t know.” She told him honestly. “But I gotta go.” He nodded and she didn’t waste a moment longer before she rushed out of the room. As she walked out of the room, she passed Alaric who was headed for it. “Jenna I gotta go! Friend emergency!”

“Ok! Let me know if you need anything!” Jenna called back and Ellie all but flew to her car. What the hell could Bonnie have done to him to have Luka that upset? She drummed an anxious beat onto her steering wheel as she drove. What if Bonnie had done something that could have hurt him?

Her thoughts were spinning as she arrived. Luka was her friend and so was Bonnie. What was she to do if Bonnie had done something bad? “Luka?” Ellie knocked loudly on the door of the Martins apartment.

“Hey.” He greeted as he pulled the door open. He didn’t seem so angry anymore. Honestly he seemed more freaked out than anything. “Please, come in.” 

“Ok, walk me through what happened.” She told him as they sat on the couch.

Luka wrung his hands together as he explained, “I was at The Grill and Bonnie came up to me and asked if I wanted to play pool. She said we were cool because she knew what my dad did for Caroline. She gave me this drink, a coffee, and I remember drinking it and then starting to play and then that’s it. A big blank after that. I confronted her and this dude Jeremy and they basically denied anything happening.”

“Wait, Jeremy?” Ellie questioned. “My brother, Jeremy?”

“I didn’t know he was your brother. But he got all defensive about it and she was playing dumb. When I called her out for lying, he pushed me away from her and told me to back off.” Luka told her.

It sounded suspicious, that much was clear. “Let’s look through the grimoires to see if we can find a spell or something to see if they’ve messed with your memory or something.” Ellie suggested. 

They were so focused on finding the right spell that they didn’t even hear Dr. Martin when he came in. “What’s got the two of you so focused?” He asked curiously. They shared a look, contemplating on whether to tell him or not. “What’s going on?” He asked again, this time more insistent than before.

“Luka thinks that Bonnie did something to him because he can’t remember what happened yesterday after she gave him a drink.” Ellie said it so fast he almost couldn’t understand her. “We were looking for a spell to try and check his memories to see if we could find anything.”

“If they did anything, we can find it. Ellie, would you light a circle of candles on the table?” Dr. Martin asked as he pulled off his coat. “Luka, come sit down.” The teens did as instructed. “Ellie, take a seat as well. Depending on if anything happened, a lot of power can be needed to search his mind.” The three joined hands as he told them, “Close your eyes and focus on the last thing you remember Luka.”

Ellie could feel the flickering of the flames on the table as she focused onto Luka and seeing his memories. For a moment nothing happened, and then she could see him at The Grill playing pool. She could see him drinking the coffee she gave him and then watched from his perspective as everything became blurry and he lost consciousness. The last thing she could hear in the memory was the voice of her own brother asking what kind of witch roofie Bonnie had given Luka, and Bonnie smugly telling him one that was strong. Everything after that was shaky and blurry and Bonnie chanting above him. When the connection broke Ellie gasped at the force of it. “What the hell.”

“That will be the last time she ever does something like that.” The threat in Dr. Martin’s voice was enough to send a chill down her spine. 

Luka looked exhausted, concerningly so. “Luka, are you ok?”

He shook his head slightly. “I don’t feel too great.”

“Spells like these typically exhaust the person who has their mind invaded. He’ll be fine with some sleep.” Dr. Martin explained and his rage was put on the back burner as he carefully helped his son stand. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

Ellie looped Luka’s other arm around her neck as she helped Dr. Martin get Luka to the bed. Once he was situated, Ellie followed Dr. Martin back into the living room. “Dr. Martin, what are you gonna do?” Bonnie was her friend, she didn’t want something bad to happen to her, but she’d drugged Luka.

“She was out of line. She needs to learn that there are consequences of their actions.” Dr. Martin said darkly. The front door swung open and Elijah stood there with a blood stained shirt. “What happened?”

“What did he do?” Ellie asked worriedly as she touched where the shirt was stained.

He was looking past her to Dr. Martin. “I need you to find Elena.  _ Now _ .” Damon must have seriously fucked up.

“She’s at the lake house.” Ellie supplied. “She went up there with Stefan. Elijah what’s going on? Do I need to go get her?”

“Where is the lake house?” Elijah asked. She gave him the address and before she could ask what was happening again, he took a hold of her arm and said, “Go home, pack a bag for you and Elena. We’re leaving.”

Damon must have  _ really _ fucked up. “How much do I need to bring?” It wouldn’t have been smart for her to try and tell him no at the moment.

“A bagful. Whatever else you need we can get it later.” Elijah told her. “Go home and pack now.” 

He was gone as fast as he arrived. “What the hell did Damon do?” Ellie asked. Dr. Martin also looked deadly as he pulled on his jacket. “Dr. Martin?”

“Do as Elijah says. I have a Bennett witch to take care of.” Dr. Martin was out the door before she could protest. How did he even know where Bonnie was? It didn’t take long to remember that they had things to track her friends.

“Fucking hell.” She cursed under her breath as she turned back to check on Luka one more time before leaving. He looked exhausted, but his breathing was steady. She locked the doorknob on her way out before she rushed to the parking lot. There was a small part of her that wondered whether Damon was even still alive or not. That thought led to worrying if Jenna and Alaric were alright. When she made her way up the steps of the porch, the sound of sobbing caught her attention. “Bonnie? What the hell happened?”

“That son of a bitch Martin took her magic away.” Jeremy said angrily. His tone so sharp Ellie actually flinched back. “What the hell are you doing working with them Ellie! They’re trying to kill you and Elena!”

“No, they’re not.” Ellie replied as she watched Bonnie try and get a grip on herself.

Jeremy looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “They want to complete the ritual! That means either you or Elena have to die!”

“Jeremy you’re working with someone that literally  _ killed you _ !” Ellie shouted. “I know what Elijah’s plan is. I know he is dangerous. But how the hell is he any worse than someone that killed you because he was having a fucking temper tantrum?”

That obviously wasn’t what the two of them were expecting her to say. “You know about that?” Bonnie questioned.

“I know about everything, Bonnie. I’m not the bad guy here.” Ellie lowered her voice. She’d never meant to shout in the first place.

“But they took her magic away.” Jeremy protested.

“Because you all thought it was a brilliant idea to drug his son. Would you react well if someone did that to me or Elena?” Ellie shot back.

Bonnie was shaking somewhat as she asked, “You’ve been a witch this whole time? Why didn’t you tell me?”

She sounded so betrayed and Ellie felt a rush of guilt. “Miss Sheila told me it wasn’t safe. That I needed to get better control of my powers before I said anything. After she died, I didn’t know what to do.” Ellie confessed. “Bonnie, I wanted to tell you. But when I started working with Elijah, I couldn’t tell you guys. It was part of our deal. Listen, I’ll tell you everything, but I’d rather just tell everyone at once. Jeremy, do you trust me?” His hesitation hurt more than she’d like to admit. “Do you trust me?”

“Yeah, yeah, I trust you.” Jeremy finally confirmed as he moved away from Bonnie to hug Ellie tightly. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything sooner. I should have.”

The tension released as she hugged him back fiercely. “I wanted to tell you too, but I couldn’t break my end of the deal with Elijah. He promised to keep everyone safe.” Ellie explained. “Part of our deal was me not telling anyone anything until he gave the go ahead.”

“So why are you telling us now?” Bonnie asked.

“Because Damon found out.” Ellie told them.

Jeremy looked between the witches before saying, “Look, why don’t we just call everyone over here or something and just get this out of the way.” He suggested before calling someone. “Elena! Hey, listen can you guys come home or something so we can talk with Ellie about everything?” Jeremy was nodding along to whatever Elena was saying. “Ok. We’ll see you soon.” Once he hung up the phone, he informed them, “They have something to take care of, but they’ll be here soon.”

A pit of worry for Elijah started to build in the pit of her gut. If he hadn’t taken Elena must have meant that something happened to him. Surely they didn’t know how to kill him. But it felt like it had been so long since she’d really spent time with any of them. “Bonnie, are we ok?”

“Did you know what Dr. Martin was going to do?” 

“No. I didn’t know. He didn’t tell me anything, but I knew he was mad.” Ellie confessed. “I didn’t even know he could take your powers.”

Bonnie nodded as she wiped away her tears. “I should have told you about everything.” Bonnie told her.

The guilt was still digging at her. “I should have told you I was a witch a long time ago.” Ellie replied. “I’m so sorry that I didn’t.” The Bennett witch took her by surprise by pulling her into a hug. “You don’t hate me?”

“I could never hate you, Ellie.” Bonnie assured her. “I’ll never hate you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” Bonnie replied. The two of them sat on the floor, curled up in a hug as they waited for the others to arrive. “So we’re ok?”

“Mmhmm, we’re ok.” Ellie assured her. 

Caroline was the first to arrive. Without question, she dropped into the hug with Bonnie and Ellie. “I’m so glad we can talk about this now.” Caroline breathed. “God, do you have any idea how hard it was to not tell you everything as soon as it happened? It was awful!”

“Why did you?” Ellie asked curiously.

“It was Elena’s idea.” Caroline told her. “She said it would be safer for you.”

She didn’t reply, that would be a conversation that she needed to have with Elena. It wasn’t a question on whether or not she and Caroline were ok or not. They were best friends for a reason and it would take more than a secret or two to break that bond. Elena arrived not long after with Damon and Stefan in tow. “What’s going on?” Elena asked. Something definitely happened to Elijah.

“Figured it was time to talk about everything.” Ellie told her, but she refused to break the hug with Caroline and Bonnie. 

“Alright then, how exactly did you find out?” Damon didn’t hesitate to jump right in.

She rolled her eyes. “Well being left behind with a murderous Original is one way to find out.”

Stefan winced at the same time Elena did. To Ellie’s surprise, even Damon looked like he felt a bit bad. “It wasn’t intentional. By the time we realized what we’d done and gone back, you were gone. We came home to get Bonnie to do a locator spell. You got home before Bonnie got here.” Elena explained.

“Doesn’t really make me feel any better about being left behind, but it was for the best I guess. Elijah explained the basics and your diary did the rest.” Ellie replied.

“You read my diary?” Elena asked in shock.

Ellie gave her a look. “I don’t wanna hear it Elena. You had Damon compel away Jeremy’s memories, which you had no right to do by the way.”

“He was hurting, I just wanted to help him.” Elena tried to excuse her actions.

“Because Vicki got murdered because Damon felt like turning her just because he could.” Ellie reminded her. “Even if your intentions were good, it doesn’t mean that you have the right to make that kind of decision. Speaking of your decisions, how are you even ok with being around Damon when he murdered Jeremy like it was nothing or when was compelling and feeding on Caroline and using her as his little minion?”

“This isn’t about that.”

“It absolutely is. You don’t seem to care that he hurt the people we care about. Even if he’s this super amazing person now, did he ever have to actually answer for the shit he did?” Ellie questioned. “Was there ever any consequence of what he did? It’s a simple yes or no answer.”

Elena didn’t say anything at first before finally saying, “No. But that doesn’t make you working with Elijah make sense.”

“Because he made the deal with me to keep everyone that we care about alive and to keep the both of us alive to the best of his ability.” Ellie explained.

“But to kill Klaus, Elijah planned on completing the ritual?” Caroline asked in confusion.

“I know that.” Ellie informed her. “But that doesn’t mean that whoever was sacrificed had to stay dead. Elijah has a plan for that and I’ve been researching alternative methods to bring us back. If there hadn’t been a way to make sure that whoever it was that was in the ritual survived, I would have made sure that it was me.”

The frustration that had been all over Elena’s face disappeared. “Ellie, no.”

“Yes. I’m the oldest. It’s my job to take care of you. When I made my deal with Elijah I knew that it sounded too good to be true, and I knew what I was doing was dangerous, but that was a price I was willing to pay.” Ellie explained. “I was the one to suggest making a deal with you in the first place. I knew the deal you made with him would be more or less the same deal I made.”

Damon almost looked impressed. “So you managed to keep all of this from us without an issue?”

“Maybe you’re just not as smart as you think you are.” Ellie shot back.

Stefan cut Damon off before he had the chance to start a fight. “You said that there was a plan to keep whoever was sacrificed alive?” He asked hopefully.

“Yeah. Elijah had this potion thing to bring us back and I’ve found a few spells for basically resurrection.” Ellie told him. “I would have never let anything happen to my family.”

“Does this mean that you’re gonna work with us to kill Klaus?” Stefan asked her.

“I was always on your side Stefan, but yes I’ll work with you.” Ellie agreed.

“I just can’t believe you were working with Elijah.” Elena said under her breath as she gave Ellie that same look of disappointment as she did to Jeremy when he was constantly getting high.

“Are you serious right now, Elena?” Ellie asked as she shifted away from Bonnie and Caroline. “You left me. You  _ left  _ me! In a house with a vampire that had his head ripped off and an Original with a coat rack through his chest  _ after _ you spent ages lying to me and not telling me about the vampires that come into this house like it's nothing after they’ve killed and hurt people we care about. You are not the one to be little miss judgy right now. How could you just leave me behind like it was nothing?”

The silence was painfully tense as Ellie stared down her twin as she waited for an answer. “It was an accident.” Elena finally said.

“An  _ accident _ ?” Ellie scoffed in disbelief. “I was there with you all day, you ignored my questioning when I was confused. You sat there with me when you got the message that Stefan and Damon were coming. And when it was all said and done and you thought Elijah was gone you didn’t think twice about me? I spent that entire day scared to death that something was going to happen to you and you  _ just left _ . Stefan and Damon I get, I’m not the priority to them. But I’m your sister and you should have at least cared enough to come back for me.”

“We did!”

“How long did it take Elena? How long did it take for you to notice you’d left me behind? It was a five fucking hour drive from where we were back home! How far into that five hour drive were you before you thought ‘hmm, someone’s missing’?” Ellie was shouting now. “And when you couldn’t find me you came  _ home _ ? Like Bonnie needed you here to do a locator spell? What if I’d been in the woods and hurt? What if some random person had found me in that house and taken me? What if I had died Elena?”

The hurt that Ellie felt was trying to claw its way to the surface. She had been suppressing her frustration towards Elena for a while now. It was a bit satisfying to see how guilty Stefan looked. It was also a bit of a relief. At least he felt bad about it. “Ellie, I’m sorry.” Elena apologized, but it didn’t do anything to relieve the betrayal. “You’re right. I should have realized you weren’t with me sooner.”

“But you didn’t.” Ellie said as her voice dropped back down to a regular level. “And yet you still act like you’re so smart and that you haven’t made mistakes.” Elena just looked defeated, but Ellie couldn’t bring herself to care. “Care, can I stay with you tonight?” Ellie asked softly as she moved back to sit between her friends. “I don’t wanna be here.”

Caroline looked back and forth between the twins before nodding. “Yeah, yeah of course you can.” She agreed. It was sad to think about how shot to hell Ellie’s trust was in Elena. But that broken trust could be addressed another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!!
> 
> Posted: 10/3/20


	35. The House Guest

**Chapter 35: The House Guest**

_ April 8, 2010 _

The past few days were eventful to say the least. Filling Jenna in on the whole thing with Elijah had gone rather smooth. His involvement had definitely caught her off guard. But still, Jenna had taken it well. And no matter what Ellie had been prepared for, Katherine getting out of the tombs hadn’t been one of them. The duo had spent a good bit of time together when Ellie wasn’t with the others. But no matter what, Katherine wouldn’t give up Elijah’s location. On the bright side, the school day flew by. “So, how did the big reveal go?” Katherine asked curiously as they walked through the square.

“Not as dramatic as you’d have liked I’m sure. There wasn’t any blood drawn.” Ellie replied. “I didn’t mention that we were friends though.”

“We’re friends?”

Ellie shot her a funny look. “Aren’t we?” She replied. It was a funky friendship, but she did like Katherine. “It would make Elena mad if we were friends.” Ellie reminded her.

Katherine grinned. “You’re right. We  _ are _ friends.” She agreed as she looped her arm through Ellie’s. “So how come you never told me you were in bed with Elijah?”

Heat rose to Ellie’s cheeks. “Not like I could, but I didn’t tell him we were friends either.” Ellie said. “But you’re the one not telling me where he is now.”

“Sorry gorgeous, no can do. I’m supposed to be helping Damon and Stefan and they think Elijah is a threat.” Katherine shrugged.

“What do you think? You have the most history with them.” Ellie asked.

Ellie let Katherine pull her into a booth at the back of The Grill. “Honestly, when I knew them, Elijah was always a reputable man. He was kind to me when I was just a girl that had been thrown out of my home into a foreign country. Klaus had been kind too, and I thought he was nice, until I found out he wanted to drain me dry.”

“Do you think daggering Elijah was the right call?” Ellie inquired. That had been the one thing Katherine would tell her. Apparently there were these daggers that could be dipped in specific ash from a specific tree that could put an Original into a coma like state, but would also break the compulsion on anyone they’d compelled.

“Hey guys, what can I get you?” Matt asked as he walked up to them. “Haven’t seen the two of you here together in a while.”

Katherine gave him a stunning smile. “Just the usual, Matty.” Katherine told him. “We’ve just been a bit busy.”

Stefan was right. Katherine  _ had _ gotten a bit too good at playing Elena. “Elena’s right. We figured we’d have a sister’s day.” Ellie added.

“The usual for you too Ellie?” Matt asked.

“Sounds good.” Ellie confirmed.

Matt started to turn away before asking, “Uh, are you guys gonna be here tonight for the live show? They’re supposed to be really good.” He explained.

“Oh! Yeah I saw the posters for it today at school. Yeah, we’re having girl’s night tonight with Caroline and Bonnie. We’ll probably swing by to see the show.” Ellie confirmed. Matt looked a little uncomfortable at the mention of Caroline. “Matt, about Caroline…”

“I’ll get those drinks right out to you guys.” Matt said as he cut her off, quickly walking away.

Ellie just sighed heavily as he walked away. “What’s going on there?” Katherine inquired as she adjusted to a more comfortable position.

“Caroline broke it off with Matt because she doesn’t know how to express her emotions and she was worried about hurting him because she’s a vampire.” Ellie confessed. “None of it wouldn’t have been a problem had you not decided to murder her.”

Katherine quirked up an eyebrow at the reminder. Ellie honestly sounded more frustrated than actually mad at what she’d done. “I’ll admit, I could have picked someone else. But Caroline was a good way to get the point across, and come on, you can’t tell me she isn’t better off as a vampire now.”

“That doesn’t make it ok.”

“So you agree? That Caroline’s better off now?” Katherine asked with a knowing smile. “Listen, we both know I’m not a saint. So I’m not going to apologize for something I’m not sorry for. But, if it makes you feel any better, I’ll refrain from killing any of your other friends or loved ones.”

Ellie snorted. “Even Elena?”

It was no secret that Katherine  _ really _ didn’t like Elena. “No promises when it comes to Elena. But as long as none of your friends try to do something stupid to me, I’ll leave them alone.” Katherine promised.

She grinned warmly at her lookalike. “That’s all I ask.” Ellie agreed. Matt brought their drinks a second later. “Thanks, Matt.”

“No problem.” Matt told her, but he left quick enough that she couldn’t pry about Caroline.

Katherine was observing Ellie as she stirred her drink. Something was bothering her lookalike. It was a bit annoying to realize that she actually cared for Ellie. Elena could choke for all Katherine cared, she would prefer it actually. But Ellie was another story. The young witch was decent enough and it was refreshing to talk to someone that didn’t want something from her. “What’s wrong?” Katherine questioned as she raised her drink.

“Nothing.” Ellie denied, but Katherine could hear the uneven beat of her heart.

“Liar.” Katherine said bluntly. “Now, tell me what’s wrong.”

Ellie thought about insisting that she was fine, but being able to talk to someone that wouldn’t immediately take Elena’s side was refreshing. “Ok, so you know how I said that the reveal wasn’t as dramatic as you would have probably liked?”

“Mmhmm.” Katherine agreed.

“Elena and I kinda fought. She was judging me for working with Elijah and I called her out for doing it when she left me at that house with a supposedly dead Elijah and a headless Trevor.” Ellie confessed.

Katherine’s eyes widened in surprise. “She did  _ what _ ?” Ellie had definitely never mentioned that before. “They just left you there?”

“Yeah.” Ellie confirmed. “And she said she was sorry but it doesn’t particularly make me feel any better. And I don’t know how to address the fact that my trust in her doesn’t really exist anymore. I mean at least you don’t act like you’ve never done something bad. But she constantly acts like she hasn’t done anything wrong.”

Their conversation paused as Matt brought their food. Once he’d left, Katherine replied, “I could have told you that about her, but damn, even I wouldn’t have left my sister behind like that.” If she hadn’t hated Elena before, the crappy treatment of Ellie would have ensured it. “No one seems to agree with me in my reasons for not liking her because everyone in this god forsaken town seems to be way too far up her ass.”

Ellie sighed in annoyance, but she didn’t disagree. “But on a less depressing note, what are you still doing hanging around?” Ellie inquired. “Shouldn’t you be a million miles from here to get away from Klaus?”

“I made a deal to help protect you and Elena in return for me getting out of the tomb. Plus, I kinda like you.” Katherine shrugged as she ate. “It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out.”

* * *

After Katherine had gone back to the boarding house, Ellie made her way to Elijah’s apartment. She might have agreed to work with them because she didn’t want anyone to die, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to try and find Elijah. The lady at the reception desk just smiled at her as she walked in. Making her way up to Elijah’s apartment was easy, but getting in was a little trickier. She didn’t know if there were any protection spells up, so she cautiously unlocked the door. Telekinesis did have its perks.

The complication with a locator spell would come in the form of her not knowing if a regular locator spell would work on a, for all intents and purposes, dead body. She’d never done a locator spell in a situation like this before. If she had to guess, they would keep his body close. The closer he was, the easier it was to make sure no one else got him. But how close? After Ellie locked the door behind her, she made her way to the kitchen table. If she were going to attempt to do a locator spell, she was going to need something of Elijah’s to try and channel.

Given, that meant going through his things. If she were lucky, he wouldn’t be too mad that she went through his stuff. It would probably be safest to start in the living room and kitchen, although she knew that there probably wouldn’t be much in the way of importance in those rooms. She just felt kinda rude going into his bedroom, even though she was just trying to help.

Her search in the living room and kitchen proved fruitless, as she expected. But she did discover that he did have a very large selection of alcohol. She swallowed her discomfort and made her to what she assumed was his bedroom. Opening the door, she was greeted with a bedroom that looked like it was straight out of a fancy magazine. Like one of those bedrooms you see on tv shows that looks so carefully crafted, but not actually lived in.

It was perfectly cleaned and Ellie felt like she was going to mess something up if she weren’t careful. He had a jacket carefully laid over the back on his chair, and books on his desk. She went over the dresser and opened the first drawer, only to forcibly slam it shut when she saw underwear folded inside. “Ok, not doing that again.” Her cheeks were burning even though there was no one around to know what she did.

She shook her head as she went to just take the jacket that had been draped across the chair. Ellie closed the door on her way out before she came back to the kitchen table. She put his jacket down before pulling out a map of Virginia and putting it down. The candles were placed onto the table next and once she had everything out, she started to put the candles on the floor in a circle. Just to have a bit more to channel, she went and filled several bowls with water and placed them around the circle.

Once she was satisfied with the placement of everything, she picked up the knife she’d grabbed and dragged the blade across her hand, letting the blood spill onto the map. She quickly muttered the healing spell Emily had taught her under her breath before she took a hold of Elijah’s jacket. Then, she began to chant, “ _ Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem. Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem. _ ” 

She watched as the blood traveled steadily towards Mystic Falls and stopped there. That much she had assumed, but starting on a bigger map seemed like the smarter thing to do to make sure that she wasn’t wrong. Once she wiped up the blood from that map, she replaced it with one of Mystic Falls. The knife made its way across her palm once more and she watched it flow onto the map. To her credit, she barely even flinched.

After her hand was healed, she once again began to chant. “ _ Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem. Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem. _ ” At first, it was traveling easily, but then she watched as the blood stuttered and stopped on the map. It was such an odd thing to watch as the blood shook and tried to continue but it was almost like it couldn’t lock on to the location.

Ellie watched in fascination as the blood started to separate and make a circle around part of Mystic Falls like that was as close as it could get. It wasn’t a cloaking spell, that much she knew, because Dr. Martin had taken away Bonnie’s magic before they’d daggered Elijah and from what she knew, they didn’t have any other witches. It was, however, entirely possible that she didn’t have a strong enough link to Elijah to pinpoint his location.

Despite her best efforts, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the location any closer. It was better than nothing though. She put out the candles and set them on the table, before going to pour out the water and putting the bowls away. The only thing she could really do now, was continue on with the plan Elijah had. Which meant focusing on alternative methods of keeping her and Elena alive should they end up sacrificed. She’d made a note of where the circle was, and it gave her a decent idea as to where to start looking for him.

She had to be careful about it, so that the others didn’t realize that she was trying to find him and undagger him. So she would bide her time until she could manage it. If she tried to make a move too soon, or if she didn’t know exactly what she was going to do and messed up, they would move his body and she probably wouldn’t get another chance. The last thing she needed was for Klaus to arrive and she didn’t have any backup.

Time flew by as Ellie searched the grimoires for help. So much so, that she almost missed the sound of her phone ringing. “Hello?” She asked.

_ “Ellie, hey, are you still coming to girls’ night?”  _ Caroline asked. Ellie hadn’t even realized that it was Caroline calling.

“I… yeah, yeah I’m still coming.” Ellie told her, though she didn’t sound particularly excited about it.

Caroline let out a sigh of relief.  _ “Oh good, that’s good. I was worried that you were going to change your mind and bail.” _

“That is a very tempting idea.” Ellie said honestly.

_ “No, no it is most definitely not a very tempting idea.” _ Caroline insisted.  _ “Look, I know you’re like super upset with Elena, and you have every right to be because she should have told you about everything, especially about John, and because she left you. But you and I haven’t spent good quality time together in ages, and Bonnie’s said she really misses you because the two of you haven’t had good quality time together in a while either.” _

“Caroline…” Ellie sighed.

_ “Listen, if things get too tense, you and I can leave and we’ll go do something else together. I promise. I’ll play buffer and so will Bonnie. Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?” _ Caroline pleaded and Ellie couldn’t help but laugh.

In the past few days, Caroline, Bonnie, and Ellie had nearly been joined at the hip. They’d been filling each other in on what they’d missed. Caroline had explained how Bonnie had been distant with her once Caroline had turned because of her stance on vampires. Bonnie had filled Ellie on the struggles that she’d had with being a witch, especially after Miss Sheila had died. Ellie had explained the loneliness she’d felt when she couldn’t tell any of them anything and her frustrations at being lied to. “Because I love you, I’ll come. But you better follow through with the promise of leaving if things get too tense.”

_ “Cross my heart and hope to die.” _ Caroline swore.

“You’re already dead, Care.” Ellie retorted as she closed the grimoire she was reading through.

Caroline’s surprised laugh was so loud Ellie had to pull the phone away from her ear.  _ “Nice, Ellie.” _ Caroline replied, but Ellie knew from her tone of voice, she hadn’t taken offense.  _ “But really, I won’t let her do anything stupid. I’ll fight her if I have to.” _

Ellie smiled softly to herself at Caroline’s sincerity. “Thank you.” Ellie told her. “I love you.”

_ “I love you too. Now hurry up, Bonnie and I are already at your house.” _ Caroline said.

“Huh? You’re already at the house? What time is it?” Ellie asked as she stood from her spot and started gathering her things.

_ “Ellie, it’s like eight.” _ Caroline informed her.  _ “Honestly, where on earth have you been? I texted you ages ago and you never responded. If you hadn’t answered my call, I would have started to get worried.” _

“Sorry, sorry, I was just reading and I lost track of time. I’m about to head home now.” Ellie apologized. “I’ll see you soon.”

_ “Ok. See you soon.” _ Caroline replied before hanging up the phone. Once her phone was back in her pocket, Ellie placed the grimoire on the table next to her spot. Since Elijah was currently unable to come home, she figured it would be fine. After she was sure that she had all of her stuff, she walked out of the apartment, but she used her magic to lock the deadbolt since she’d locked the knob before walking out.

The ride home left Ellie feeling anxious. She didn’t particularly want to be anywhere near Elena at the moment, but for Bonnie and Caroline, she’d deal with it. Maybe if they were lucky, Ellie could talk Dr. Martin into giving Bonnie her magic back. It would be beneficial for them to have as many witches ready as they could. It would give them a better chance of survival. She’d been giving him time to cool off after the whole roofie incident before she asked.

Not that she was excusing the roofie incident. She’d given Bonnie more than an earful about it. At the very least, Bonnie had been sincere when she’d apologized to Luka about being out of line. The arrival of Klaus had been taking up the majority of her thoughts. He was dangerous, more so than Elijah. At least Elijah didn’t want to kill them at the moment. Even Katherine, who was terrified of Klaus, respected Elijah.

Ellie pulled into the drive as she pushed out her fears of Klaus. Bonnie and Caroline must have come together since only Bonnie’s car was there other than Elena’s. She could hear the three of them giggling and talking as she walked in. “Ellie! Perfect, you’re here just in time. We were about to decide on what to eat.” Caroline said brightly as Ellie walked over to where she stood. “Chinese food or pizza?”

Elena just laughed as she replied, “Like you have to ask.”

“I will get it.” Caroline said as she pulled out her tablet to order food.

Bonnie and Ellie both noticed the moment Caroline’s smile faded and straightened up to see the picture of Matt and Caroline that Caroline had put as her background. “I’ll do it.” Bonnie offered as she pulled the tablet from Caroline’s hands.

“Do you believe that Jonas is being sincere?” Elena asked as she placed cups down on the counter.

“I don’t know what to believe.” Bonnie confessed as she typed away on the tablet. “I think he’s at a loss. He’s not sure who to trust.”

“Join the club.” Elena replied.

“Wait, do you believe he’s being sincere about what? Did you guys talk to him or something?” Ellie asked in confusion and she watched as both Caroline and Bonnie shot Elena a look.

“I thought you were supposed to tell her.” Caroline said as she frowned at Elena.

Elena paused from where she’d started to go back to the cabinet. “I never saw her after school, so I didn’t get the chance.” Elena replied.

“I have a cell phone, Elena.” Ellie said sarcastically. “How am I supposed to trust you if you’re not telling me anything?”

At the very least, Elena looked like she felt bad. But it wasn’t much. “I’m sorry. I promise, no more forgetting. I’ll keep you informed on what’s going on. Please, please, I don’t want to mess tonight up over something small like this.” Elena pleaded.

Ellie glanced over to the others and Bonnie shrugged but Caroline made eyes for the front door. It seemed that Caroline was dedicated to keeping her word about them leaving if it got too uncomfortable for her. But she also knew that Caroline and Bonnie  _ really _ wanted the night to go well. “Fine, I’ll let this slide, but it’s the last time. Now, is there anything else you’ve neglected to tell me?” Elena shook her. “Alright.” Ellie told her before asking, “So, what are we going to do about a movie?”

Caroline looked excited as she suggested, “What about ‘The Notebook’?”

“Caroline, how many times have you seen that movie?” Elena asked with a grin as she placed down a bag of chips.

“That is so  _ not _ the point.” Caroline shot back as they laughed.

“Well, yeah, I mean…” Elena trailed off as Jenna walked into the room. “Hey.”

“What’s goin on?” Jenna asked curiously.

“Girls night.” Ellie informed her. “We haven’t had one in a while.”

As Jenna nodded, Elena broke the awkward tension and asked, “How are you doing?”

“You heard about my fight with Ric.” Jenna deduced.

“He feels terrible.” Elena added in his defense.

“Is this some kind of disguised attempt to cheer me up?” Jenna inquired.

All four of the teens shook their heads in denial as Elena assured her, “No, no, this is about us girls hanging out. And, you know, we’ll be here if you happen to want to talk, or…”

“Because I am a winner when it comes to successful relationships.” Caroline added.

Jenna made a face. “You too?”

“You have no idea.” Caroline replied.

That was all they needed to get her to agree. “Ok then.” Jenna said as she walked around the counter to get to the fridge. “It’s this whole Isobel thing. He’s hiding something from me.”

“To play devil’s advocate,  _ maybe _ there is a great reason why he’s not telling you.” Caroline suggested as Elena nodded in agreement. “Maybe he is just trying to protect you.”

“Well, that’s not his call to make.” Jenna told her. “I mean, I deserve the truth. Everybody does.” Ellie and Jenna shared a knowing look between them. They’d not yet told the others that Jenna knew the truth.

Caroline looked a bit upset as she replied, “Well, sometimes it's harder than that.”

“Not if it’s somebody you care about, it isn’t.” Jenna said as the awkward silence started to creep back in.

“You know what we need?” Caroline asked and all of the girls perked up as she said, “Dancing. There is a band at The Grill.”

Bonnie didn’t even hesitate as she said, “I’m in.”

“In.” Jenna agreed.

“In.” Ellie and Elena said together before Caroline clapped her hands together excitedly.

Everyone moved to pull on their jackets as Ellie asked, “Are we all going in one car?”

Bonnie nodded. “Everyone can fit in mine. It’ll save gas.” She confirmed as the girls made their way out of the house and into Bonnie’s car. Elena took the passenger’s seat and Ellie took the seat between Jenna and Caroline. The car ride was blissfully relaxed. Whether Elena was keeping herself in check because Jenna was there, Ellie couldn’t be sure. But she was going to enjoy having fun with her friends for as long as possible.

The car ride was filled with excited laughter as they pulled into the surprisingly packed parking lot of The Grill. Jenna opened the door and Ellie’s eyes went wide at the sight of all the people there. “Holy crap this place is packed tight!” Ellie commented as they walked in. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people here.”

“I know! It’s great!” Caroline said excitedly. She was practically glowing with her good mood as they walked arm in arm towards the band.

Ellie and Caroline were bouncing to the beat of the song until Jenna leaned towards Ellie and said, “I need a drink.” A quick glance in the other direction helped Ellie spot Alaric.

She turned back to see Matt walking towards them. “Hey, Matt.” Caroline greeted him with a hopeful smile, but he just continued past them.

Caroline deflated as Bonnie said, “Things just got real awkward.”

Ellie squeezed Caroline’s hand to try and reassure her. “You could go and talk to him.” Ellie suggested.

“No, I can’t. I don’t know what to tell him.” Caroline sighed.

“Care, just because you can’t tell about the vampire thing, doesn’t mean that you can’t tell him how you really feel about him.” Ellie had been careful to keep her voice low when mentioning vampire, but with Caroline’s enhanced hearing, she understood Ellie just fine.

Bonnie nodded in agreement. “She’s right, Care. He said the ball’s in your court.”

“Yeah, but I can’t do anything about it.” Caroline denied.

“Why not? All you do is talk about how much you care about him. You could tell him that.” Bonnie reminded her.

“Yeah, but I am still keeping so many secrets.” Caroline reminded them.

Elena was staring at the bar as she told Caroline, “Alaric’s in the same boat with Jenna and maybe that’s our mistake. We’re trying to protect the people that we love by keeping them out of it, but in the end, we’re hurting them anyway.” Ellie wondered if Elena was actually starting to understand how she’d hurt the people around her, or if she was just saying that.

As the song ended, Caroline turned back towards the band. A second later, she got a determined look on her face as she started to pull off her jacket. “Hold my jacket for me.” Caroline said as she passed it to Ellie.

“What are you doing?” Ellie asked curiously.

“Where are you going?” Elena called after the blonde as she made her way towards the stage. “What is she doing?”

“I have no clue.” Ellie replied as the three girls moved closer together as Caroline jumped up onto the stage.

“Hey, everybody.” Caroline greeted the audience with a warm smile. “Let’s hear it for the band! Weren’t they awesome?”

Jenna returned to the teenagers and said, “This isn’t going to end well.” She downed the rest of her drink in a single gulp.

“So there’s this guy.” Caroline started as the audience quieted down. “And, uh, he told me to tell him how I feel about him.” Ellie and Elena spotted Matt as he turned to face Caroline as she chuckled nervously. “Like it’s so easy. Um, you know, just cause I talk a lot doesn’t mean I always know what I’m actually talking about. Like now, I’m feeling loopy and I don’t really know how to express myself.” The singer of the band tried to take the mic back but Caroline quickly said, “I can sing.”

“Sing?”

“Yeah! Yeah, you know what, I’m gonna sing.” Caroline said with determination.

Ellie took a hold of Bonnie’s hand and prayed that this went well. The four girls knew that Caroline was compelling the singer from the way they both went incredibly still, but it was harmless in this case. A moment later, the band started to play and Caroline started to sing. It had been a while since Ellie had heard Caroline really putting her heart into a song, but she sounded just as beautiful as Ellie remembered. “She’s good.” Jenna praised.

“Yeah.” Elena agreed. The more Caroline sang, the more comfortable and confident she became and everyone started to sway to the music. In the middle of Caroline singing, Matt jumped up onto the stage and kissed her.

The audience cheered loudly as Ellie and Bonnie bounced in excitement. The crowd went wild again when Matt dropped Caroline into a low dip and kissed her again. It was only a few seconds before the couple disappeared off the stage and into the crowd where Ellie couldn’t see. “That went well.” Ellie said as she grinned.

“That it did.” Jenna agreed as she took a drink of her beer.

* * *

Ellie lost Elena and Bonnie in the crowd, but luck was on her side as she spotted the two of them together near the bathroom. Elena was walking away, cell phone pressed to her ear, as Ellie approached. “Is everything all good?” Ellie asked as she pointed to her twin’s retreating form.

“Oh, yeah, Stefan just called her.” Bonnie said easily. “But uh, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

Bonnie looked incredibly nervous. The witch wrung her hands together as she worked up her courage to ask, “Would you be ok if I wanted to date Jeremy?” 

Ellie’s eyes went wide in surprise. Had she really avoided everybody for so long that she didn’t even recognize that one of her best friends and her baby brother were developing feelings for one another? It makes sense now why Luka had described him as being so defensive of Bonnie when he confronted them. She didn’t know if it was the best idea, because she wasn’t sure if Jeremy was really over Anna’s death yet, but it wasn’t her place to intervene. “Bonnie, you deserve to be happy and so does Jeremy. If being together is what makes the two of you happy, then by all means, you’ve got my blessing.”

The witch pulled Ellie into a near bone crushing hug. “Thank you! You don’t know how much that means to me.” Bonnie said sincerely.

“Just treat him right ok? And I’ll make sure to remind him to treat you right too.” Ellie asked.

“I promise.” Bonnie agreed.

When Ellie’s phone began to vibrate in her back pocket, she pulled it and she was more than a little surprised to see Stefan’s name displayed. “Hello?”

_ “Ellie, where are you right now?” _ Stefan sounded nearly frantic.

“I’m near the bathrooms.” She told him as she walked closer to the bathroom and farther away from Bonnie. Oddly, the lights shot out, plunging The Grill into darkness.

_ “Go into the bathroom and wait for me and Elena. Right now.” _ Stefan insisted.

“I’m going. Stefan what’s going on?” Ellie asked as she rushed towards the bathroom. As she pushed the door open, she saw Stefan standing there with Elena and Caroline. She hung up the phone as she asked again, “What’s going on?”

“Jonas is here and he’s after Ellie and Elena.” Stefan explained.

“What? Why?” Ellie asked in confusion.

Elena looked so sad as she revealed, “Luka’s dead, Ellie.”

Caroline supported Ellie’s weight when her legs gave out from under her. “What? No, no, no, no, no, no what happened?” 

“It’s complicated and I’ll explain later, but Ellie right now you and Elena are in a lot of danger.” Stefan told her. “Now, we have a plan, but I have to get the two of you out of here.”

“What can I do?” Caroline asked as Ellie managed to stand on her own.

“Stefan, Ellie, and I are gonna go out there and I’m gonna get his attention. Once he’s got all of his focus on me, you can take him down.” Elena explained.

“No! She can’t kill him!” Ellie protested.

“She doesn’t have to. All we need is for her to buy us enough time to get out of The Grill without him knowing which way we’re going.” Stefan promised. “She doesn’t have to hurt him.”

Caroline squeezed her hand in reassurance. “I won’t hurt him, Ellie, I promise.”

Screams broke out from outside and Ellie knew they were out of time. “Come on.” Stefan said as he took a hold of both Ellie and Elena and pulled them from the bathroom.

Outside was chaos. Everyone was run and a fire was burning brightly across the bar. They pushed through the crowd to get to the older witch. “Dr. Martin!” Elena called. “I’m so sorry about Luka. I never wanted that to happen, but at least let us help you get your daughter back.” She pleaded.

“Only Elijah can do that.”

“You don’t need Elijah.” She told him. In response, the flames shot farther across the bar, growing hotter. Stefan pulled Elena closer to his chest and reached behind him to make sure that Ellie was also in his reach. Before Dr. Martin could do anything else, Caroline jumped out of nowhere and tackled Dr. Martin to the ground.

Stefan pulled them into an alley not far from The Grill. Damon and Katherine were already there waiting when they made far enough inside the alley that they wouldn’t be seen. “What’s going on?” Ellie asked as she looked over to Katherine.

“Jonas is more than likely gonna head to your house to try and ambush you there.” Stefan explained. “He doesn’t know that Katherine is still in town.”

“So I’ll be taking precious Elena’s place to make sure the scary witch doesn’t get her.” Katherine’s tone was clearly meant to mock Elena. “So I’ll be needing that necklace.”

Elena looked like she was going to protest, but Stefan didn’t give her the chance. “She’ll give it back Elena, and we need to make sure that nothing happens to the two of you.” Stefan told her and she handed over her necklace reluctantly. “Elena, go with Damon. Ellie, you’ll come with me and Katherine back to your house and Damon and Elena will be there not long after.”

“But it’s dangerous. Ellie could get hurt!” Elena said in protest.

Katherine scoffed at Elena. “You realize she’s a witch that took Damon down with ease right? Which I find hilarious by the way.” Katherine said with an amused grin.

Stefan gave Katherine a funny look but nodded. “She’s right, Elena. Ellie will be fine and I’ll be right there to make sure of it.” Stefan assured her. “But we need to go.” Elena looked reluctant, but finally nodded in agreement. “Come on, let’s go.” Katherine and Ellie followed after Stefan towards his car.

Ellie crawled into the back and let Katherine take the front seat as they headed home. Luka’s death was weighing heavily on her and it was starting to feel like she was drowning all over again. Something in her heartbeat must have given her away because Katherine looked back towards her with something akin to worry in her eyes. The others still weren’t really aware of Katherine and Ellie’s friendship, and so it meant a great deal to see Katherine display concern when Stefan was right there.

They pulled into the driveway and relief flooded Ellie to see Bonnie’s car parked in front of them. When Katherine opened the door, Ellie spotted Jeremy and Bonnie sitting at the table. They both walked over to the three of them as Katherine told them, “It’s not over yet.”

“What’s going on?” Jeremy asked.

“He’ll explain.” Katherine said as Stefan shut the front door and she started to head upstairs.

“When did you guys get home?” Stefan inquired as Katherine disappeared out of view.

“A view minutes ago.” Bonnie informed him.

Stefan did a quick glance around the room. “Did you check the house?”

“Why would we check the house?” Jeremy asked.

Ellie gave him a look. “Because you have a grieving father that happens to be a very powerful witch that has already broken into this house before like it was nothing.” She said sarcastically. Stefan tugged on her sleeve slightly before he snapped his attention upstairs. “Oh god.” She knew he heard something and she took off up the stairs as quickly as she could.

Stefan and Bonnie were running right behind her and they all stopped in the doorway of the bathroom where Dr. Martin was laying on the floor with a neck wound and Katherine stood licking her lips. “You’re welcome.” She told them.

Bonnie followed behind Ellie as they carefully stepped into the bathroom to kneel next to his body. “You didn’t have to kill him!” Bonnie said as her eyes watered.

“Yes, we did.” Katherine corrected.

Bonnie moved forward to close his eyes when Dr. Martin jerked upright and grabbed her face. Bonnie and Ellie both screamed in surprise as Katherine jerked Ellie into standing behind her. “No!” Ellie cried as Stefan snapped Dr. Martin’s neck. “Dr. Martin…” Ellie struggled to control her tears.

“We need to get the mess taken care of before Jenna gets home.” Stefan said as Bonnie left the room without another word. Katherine agreed, but Ellie remained silent. “Ellie, are you alright?”

She wasn’t alright, but she didn’t really want to talk about it at that moment either. “I think I need to sit down.” She confessed and allowed Stefan to help her over to the stairs so that she could sit. Before he left, she grabbed his wrist. “Please be respectful of his body. He didn’t deserve this.”

“I will, I promise.” Stefan assured her. She wasn’t sure how long it was before Stefan was tapping her on the shoulder to tell her that he and Katherine were done. “Everything’s taken care of.” Stefan announced to Damon and Elena as they reached them.

“I’m guessing you’re going to want this back.” Katherine said sarcastically as she yanked the necklace off and dangled it in front of Elena. “But your pretty little outfit is gonna need a good dry clean.”

Elena snatched the necklace away from the vampire before ignoring her entirely to say, “You’re going to have to get her out of here before Jenna gets here.”

Katherine looked mildly annoyed at the dismissal. “Is that all you have to say to me?” Katherine questioned.

“This doesn’t change the way I feel about you.” Elena told her.

“I don’t much like you either, if we’re going to be open.” Katherine sassed and Ellie couldn’t help but grin a little. “And frankly, I’d be happy to see you dead, but if we’re gonna try and take on Klaus, we kinda need you to be alive. So I’m not a threat to you, Elena. If any of you are going to believe anything, believe that.” 

“You all should probably get going so that Jenna doesn’t suspect anything.” Ellie said but she shot Katherine a look that she was sure the vampire understood.

Damon nodded in agreement. “We probably should.” It was probably the first they’d agreed on other than their dislike of John. Ellie wasn’t even sure where Bonnie and Jeremy disappeared to.

Once the vampires left, Ellie didn’t say anything to Elena, despite her twin calling to her. Her breath caught in her throat as her mind flooded with images of Dr. Martin’s dead body. “Oh my god.” She choked.

Ellie nearly screamed when hands grabbed at her, but when she saw Katherine before her, she collapsed into the vampire’s arms and cried. “You have to breathe.” Katherine said softly as she held the witch tightly. The last time Katherine had comforted someone like this was when her father had killed her younger sister’s favorite horse as a punishment for spending too much time with one of the village boys. That had been before she’d ever gotten pregnant.

“They’re dead. They’re dead and I couldn’t save them.” Ellie sobbed as she buried her face into Katherine’s neck. “They weren’t supposed to die. He just wanted his daughter back. Klaus took her, they just wanted her back.” Katherine tried to soothe the young girl, but even she knew that this would be something Ellie would probably just have to cry out. 

“I’m sorry.” Katherine apologized, and for once it was sincere. Maybe she wasn’t necessarily sorry that they were dead, she would do what she had to do if they were a threat. She was, however, sorry that it hurt Ellie as much as it had. Katherine hadn’t realized that Ellie had cared about them so much. “What can I do?”

Ellie took a few shaky breaths as she tried to think. Slowly, she pulled away just far enough to look at Katherine. “I want to bury them properly.” Ellie finally said. “They don’t deserve to be buried in an unmarked, shallow grave in the woods. They deserve respect.”

In that moment, with a red nose and tear stained cheeks, all Katherine could see in Ellie was her little sister who came crying to her over the death of her horse. She might be Katherine’s doppelgänger, but her mannerisms were so similar to Malina. “Of course we can bury them properly. Tomorrow we can go and I’ll make sure they have what they deserve. But for now you need to calm down and breathe before you get sick.”

“Will you stay a while?” Ellie asked as she hiccuped.

“Of course.” Katherine agreed. They settled onto the bed and to Katherine’s surprise, Ellie curled up around Katherine just the same as Malina once did. Maybe it was just the way little sisters curled up when they wanted comfort. Ellie was struggling to catch her breath, and to her surprise the act of comforting came back to her with ease. She stroked Ellie’s hair as she sung the old Bulgarian lullabies her mother used to sing.

Slowly, but surely, Ellie’s heartbeat slowed back down to a regular rate before she commented, “That sounds pretty.” She looked up to Katherine and clarified, “The lullaby, it’s pretty.”

Katherine nodded in agreement. “My mama used to sing it to me and my sister when we were little. It was Malina’s favorite song.”

“Malina had good taste in lullabies.” Ellie said softly.

“Yes, she did.” Katherine confirmed. She started to shift away from Ellie as she asked, “Are you going to be ok? I should probably get back to the boarding house.” Despite being upset, she knew that Katherine had stayed a good while.

So Ellie moved to stand as she said, “Yes. Thank you for being here though. I should go get cleaned up.” Katherine gave her a small smile before she disappeared through the open window. Ellie went to the bathroom and tried to keep the images of Dr. Martin out of her head. Just as she was exiting the bathroom, the doorbell rang.

That was odd. It was pretty late, and there shouldn’t be anyone coming over. She made her way to the bottom of the stairs as Jenna opened the door to reveal a somewhat familiar looking woman. “Hi, you must be Jenna.” The woman said as her gaze shifted over to Ellie. “I’m Ellie and Elena’s mother.”

Her gaze shifted once more to something behind both Ellie and Jenna, and they turned to see Elena staring her down as she said, “Isobel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! This chapter showed a different side of Katherine I feel like we didn't really get to see in the show, but I hope you all enjoyed it. Writing the deaths of Luka and his father were hard, but I feel like it was necessary. Please leave a comment and let me know what you thought!
> 
> Posted: 10/10/20


	36. Know Thy Enemy

**Chapter 36: Know Thy Enemy**

_April 8, 2010_

Ellie stood there in shock as this woman, who was apparently her supposedly dead birth mother Isobel, said, “Hello, Elena. It’s nice to see you again.”

“ _Again_?” Both Jenna and Ellie asked as they looked at Elena in disbelief.

“So you’re the woman who’s dating my husband.” Isobel commented. “I need to speak to Elena and Ellie. May I come in?”

“N-n-no, don’t.” Elena stuttered. “Don’t invite her in.” A sudden realization struck the other two girls in the house as they shared a look. If Elena was so insistent on Jenna not giving Isobel permission, then Isobel had to have been a vampire.

“I need to talk to you and Ellie, Elena.” Isobel insisted.

“No!” Elena replied as she slammed the door shut.

Jenna didn’t bother to try and hide her tears. “You knew she was still alive?” She asked in shock. “Ric? John? Did they know?”

“I can explain everything, Jenna.” Elena tried to say as she also started to cry, but Jenna yanked her hand away from her niece.

“No.”

Ellie didn’t try to stop her aunt as she ran up the stairs. “No, Jenna, please.” Elena cried, but Ellie blocked her path up the stairs.

“You said no more lies, Elena. You swore that there was nothing else that you were keeping from me. How could you not tell me our birth mother was still alive? That you’d _met_ her?” Ellie was openly crying as she let Elena see how badly her betrayal had hurt her own sister.

“Ellie, wait, no, Ellie, please you don’t understand.” Ellie turned to run up the stairs and Jenna thankfully let her into the room before slamming the door in Elena’s face. “Jenna, Ellie, please you guys have to talk to me. I- I need to explain what’s going on.” Jenna slid down against the door as she cried. Ellie dropped down next to her as she listened to Elena beg for them to listen to what she had to say.

Her attention was caught when Jenna started to hyperventilate. She took a hold of Jenna’s hands and started to hum the lullaby that Katherine had been singing earlier. While she could have used her magic to calm Jenna down, it felt wrong. If she used her abilities to alter Jenna’s emotions when she was like this, how would she be any better than Damon compelling Jeremy's grief over Vicki away?

So instead, she sat and she hummed the music as she tried to drown out the sound of Elena’s voice. After a while, Elena finally seemed to go away and it wasn’t long after that their harsh cries turned into sad sniffles. With the amount of crying she’d done tonight, her eyes were going to be so swollen in the morning and she was going to have a raging headache. “Did you know?” Jenna finally asked as she wiped her face dry. “About Isobel?”

“No.” Ellie confessed. “She never said a word about Isobel.”

Even through her own feelings of betrayal, she knew that this must have really hurt Ellie. “Do you wanna sleep in here with me tonight?” Jenna asked softly. “I don’t want to be alone right now.” She added it as an afterthought. Ellie would be more willing to stay if she told herself she was doing it for Jenna’s sake instead of her own.

“Yeah.” Ellie agreed. “I’d appreciate that.” Jenna lent Ellie some pajamas so that the other girl wouldn’t have to leave and after she’d changed, Ellie asked, “Jenna, will you come with me somewhere tomorrow?”

They crawled under the covers as Jenna replied, “Of course, where are we going?”

“To a funeral.” Ellie said sadly. Jenna didn’t press the issue when she saw the way Ellie’s eyes watered once more. Instead, she pulled her niece close and hugged her until the both fell into a somewhat peaceful sleep.

* * *

Ellie had woken up at some point in the middle of the night. In the blissful quiet of the night, she packed a bag. The last thing she wanted was to stay in this house anymore, at least not for a while. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Jenna also went to stay somewhere else. When they’d woken for good in the early morning, Jenna did exactly that. “Guess you didn’t feel like staying here either.” Jenna commented as she stuffed her things into her bag.

“This is a lie that I’m gonna have trouble getting over.” Ellie said honestly as she double checked that she had everything that she needed. “Are you going to be staying on campus?”

“Yeah. What about you? Do you have somewhere you’re planning on staying?” Jenna questioned. “You can stay with me on campus if you want.” She offered.

“No, that’s ok. Where I’ll be crashing is pretty safe.” Ellie assured her. “You know that Elena is probably waiting on us down there to try and talk to us again.”

Jenna nodded as she sighed. “Yes, I know. If I had to guess, she probably called Ric too. But I don’t really want to talk to either of them right now. Even if they thought that it was best to keep me out of the supernatural stuff, they could have at least told me she was alive if they didn’t want to get into the vampire topic.”

“I’m sure that to her whatever reasoning she has makes perfect sense.” Ellie huffed slightly.

“So whose funeral are we going to exactly? Also when is it?” Jenna questioned as Ellie zipped up her bag.

Ellie sniffed as she shook her head. “I’ll tell you after we drop your stuff off at campus, I’ll tell you about it.”

Jenna didn’t press the matter. Instead, they grabbed their bags and headed out. Both Elena and Alaric were waiting at the steps. “Hey.” Elena greeted as she looked up at them hopefully. It just made Ellie more upset.

Alaric looked at the two of them as he said, “Jenna-”

“I don’t want you here Ric.” Jenna cut him off. “You need to go.”

“Ok, listen, I can’t begin to imagine what you must be feeling right now.” Alaric tried to say.

“Rage and betrayal would pretty much cover it.” Jenna replied.

“Where are you going?” Elena asked them as Jenna and Ellie picked their coats up off the rack and pulled them on.

“I’m going to stay on campus.” Jenna informed her without really looking at her. “I have a thesis to write, and I don’t want to be in this house.”

Alaric tried to convince them to stay. “Jenna, please, just stop. Let us explain to you exactly what is going on.”

Jenna didn’t give him an answer. “Elena, I need you to go to the Lockwoods’ today and accept the historical society’s check for your mom’s foundation. I doubt Ellie is in the mood for it and I’m not going to make her go.”

“O-ok but, Jenna, please just-” Elena stuttered.

It seemed that their attempts weren’t only upsetting Ellie, because when Jenna turned back to face Elena and Alaric, she once again had tear stained cheeks. “I don’t have it in me to hear any more lies from you.” Jenna snapped before slamming the door shut behind her. “Where are we going again?” She asked as she wiped away her tears.

“I’ll meet you at campus. I’m gonna go drop my stuff off and then I’ll meet you there.” Ellie said as they put their things into their cars. “Are you gonna be ok?”

“I should be asking you that.” Jenna replied. “You’re the one that found out that her biological mom is still alive.”

“Would have been better if Elena hadn’t lied to me, but I have more pressing matters.” Ellie confessed. “I have an errand to run first. I’m not sure how long it’ll take.”

Jenna looked vaguely concerned, but if it was something that was important enough that she was putting her betrayal aside then she wasn’t going to question it. “Be careful, and call me when you’re headed to campus.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.” Jenna replied.

They went their separate ways and Ellie’s heart ached for Luka and Dr. Martin. Maybe if something had been different, she might have had a chance to save them both. The drive to Elijah’s apartment felt like an eternity when she was drowning in her thoughts. She waved to the lady at the front desk and made her way up to his apartment and dropped her bag onto the couch. 

She wished that Elijah was here. He would know what to do. Even if he didn’t, she would still stand a better chance at survival with him there to help. That hadn’t known each other for very long, but he’d gained her trust in the time that they had. She shook her head to free herself from thoughts of Elijah as she turned on her heel to leave.

Once she was back in her car, she dialed the now familiar number belonging to Katherine. _“Hey.”_ Katherine greeted. _“I’m at the funeral home. Do you want to help pick out the caskets or do you want me to take care of it?”_

“No, no I want to be there. I’m headed there now.” Ellie replied. It was convenient that there was really only one funeral home in Mystic Falls.

 _“Is everything ok?”_ Katherine asked after a moment of silence.

Ellie sighed. Apparently, even over the phone, Katherine had gotten to know her well enough that she could pick up on when Ellie was upset. “No, not really, but I don’t want to talk about it over the phone. I’ll tell you about it after we get this done.”

 _“You sure?”_ Katherine questioned.

“Yeah. I’m sure. If I don’t take all of this one step at a time I might have a breakdown.” Ellie said it nonchalantly, but it was still concerning to hear. “Do you… where did you put Luka and Dr. Martin?”

 _“I put them in an abandoned house until we could get them buried properly. They won’t be disturbed there.”_ Katherine informed her.

Ellie bit the inside of her cheek to try and keep her emotions in check. “Ok. I'll be at the funeral home soon.” She hung up and tried to ignore the pain in her chest. A few minutes later and Ellie was pulling into the parking lot. Katherine was waiting for her there.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Katherine asked with concern.

“They deserve to be put to rest. I owe this to them.” Ellie said sadly. She was grateful when Katherine didn’t stop her from taking the vampire’s hand. “I just want to get it over with.”

“Come on, I’ve seen a few that I think you’d like. Nothing too flashy, but respectable.” Katherine told her as she led the young witch inside.

The old woman running the place, Mrs. Johnson was giving them an incredibly sympathetic smile. “You must be Ellie, your sister was telling me about you.” Mrs. Johnson greeted. Ellie wondered if she thought that Katherine was Elena, or if Katherine had introduced Ellie as her sister either way. “I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s very kind of you to take care of your friend’s final resting place.”

Katherine squeezed Ellie’s hand to remind her that she wasn’t alone. “Mrs. Johnson was just showing me a few of the options that she thought would be nice.” Katherine told her and the two girls followed as Mrs. Johnson showed them to Ellie as well. Katherine kept a watch on her lookalike as they picked out the caskets. It didn’t take long for them to find ones that Ellie liked, and Katherine paid for it without batting an eye.

“They were expensive how did you-”

Katherine cut her off with a small grin. “You live as long as I have, you can save up a nice little chunk of money.” She assured her. “And I hope it’s ok with you, but I already got headstones for them.”

Ellie was surprised. “You did?” She asked. Before Katherine could respond, Ellie gave her a watery smile. “Thank you.”

“Let me get the last few things settled with Mrs. Johnson and then we’re done.” Katherine told her before walking over to where Mrs. Johnson seemed to be filling out paperwork. Once she returned, Katherine explained, “I’ve got one of the hearse drivers going to pick up Dr. Martin and Luka. I had them put in suits earlier, so they’ll be prepared.”

Despite not knowing the Martins, or even really caring about them, Katherine had still gone to such lengths to put them properly to rest. It meant more to Ellie than Katherine probably realized. “Is it ok if Jenna comes? I want her to be there.” Ellie asked as they headed to Ellie’s car.

“Is she going to have an issue with me being there?” Katherine questioned. She hadn’t really had any interaction with Jenna other than when she was using her as a spy and when she compelled Jenna to stab herself. It wasn’t really the track record for them to be besties.

“No, and even if she did, she’d suck it up for my sake.” Ellie informed her before she called Jenna to let her know she was coming to pick her up. 

When they arrived on campus, Katherine followed Ellie towards a dorm building. They knocked on one of the doors and it only took a moment for Jenna to open it. “Ellie, I really don’t want to deal with Elena right now.” Jenna huffed as she went to close the door.

Ellie caught it before she could shut it all the way. “Jen, this isn’t Elena.” Ellie said quietly. It was almost comical how large Jenna’s eyes went. At least, it was amusing in Katherine’s opinion.

Katherine watched as Jenna stared her down. She did a double take between the two doppelgängers. “When you said that you and Elena looked like her… I don’t think I realized that you meant _exactly_ the same.” Jenna said as she opened the door. “So you’re Katherine?”

“The one and only.” Katherine confirmed.

“I stabbed myself because of you.” Jenna said bluntly.

Ellie winced. While it was true, Katherine had eventually apologized for it, and that she’d done it to get a message across. “That’s true, but at least you didn’t hit anything vital. Plus I did damage control.” Ellie offered. “If Damon and Stefan and Elena hadn’t been reckless, Katherine wouldn’t have needed to send a message.”

She hadn’t expected for Ellie to defend her actions, especially when someone Ellie cared about had gotten hurt in the process. But in Katherine’s defense, she hadn’t wanted to kill Jenna. She’d just needed for the Salvatores and Elena did listen to her. She’d even gone so far as to make sure Jenna knew exactly where to stab herself. Had Jenna accidentally died, it would have messed up her plans and she just knew that they’d have tried to kill her. “I’m glad you’re not dead, if it makes you feel any better.” Katherine offered.

Jenna seemed to be considering something. “Ellie’s told me about her friendship with you. From what she tells me, you’re not all bad. And from what she tells me, you’ve had a rough go of things. So just don’t hurt her and I’ll consider it a flesh start.”

That was also something Katherine hadn’t expected. “Do you know where we need to go?” Ellie asked Katherine as Jenna exited her dorm, locking the door behind her.

“Yeah, I can drive.” Katherine offered and the three of them were off.

* * *

The funeral was small. In all honesty, it was only Katherine, Jenna, and Ellie. The two had stood back as Ellie went and knelt at their caskets. They waited as she apologized profusely for failing them. It was painful for Jenna to watch, but eventually Ellie stood and walked back to them and Katherine signaled for the workers to lower them and begin to bury the two men.

It was when they dropped the first scoop of dirt on top of the caskets that a broken cry escaped the witch. With every drop of dirt, Ellie’s shoulders started to shake and it wasn’t long before she dissolved into sobs. Katherine hated how much Ellie’s distress bothered her. With some hesitation, Katherine pulled the younger girl closer and to her relief, Ellie held onto her tightly as she cried. Jenna didn’t seem to take any offense to Ellie clinging to Katherine. Instead, the blonde rested her head on Ellie’s shoulders as she hugged her from behind.

Katherine wasn’t sure how long it took for Ellie to calm down, but like last night, her cries eventually turned to sniffles. Once the men were finished they packed up and walked away. Katherine had already paid them for their services. “Why don’t we go and eat?” Katherine asked softly. “Maybe it’ll help you feel better.”

“You think?” Ellie asked softly.

“I think it’s a great idea.” Jenna confirmed. “You need to eat something. You’ll feel better.” The three walked closely together as they headed back to the car. They didn’t think twice about letting Katherine drive while Jenna climbed into the back with Ellie. Katherine listened silently as Ellie filled Jenna in on what had happened and who Dr. Martin and Luka had been.

It seemed that telling Jenna about them helped her feel better a good bit and by the time they arrived at The Grill, Ellie’s tears had dried and she was laughing slightly as she told Jenna some of the things Luka had done. They made their way to a booth in the back. Not exactly where Katherine and Ellie sat last time, but close enough. Ellie and Jenna sat on one side, with Katherine across from them. One of the waitresses came and took their order, and Ellie couldn’t help but laugh when Jenna’s eyes went wide at Katherine’s flawless impersonation of Elena. “She’s gotten good at it.” Ellie said with a shrug.

“Just a bit.” Jenna agreed. She wasn’t sure how she felt about spending time with the vampire. She was a threat, and had not only hurt her but other people that they cared about. But at the same time, Ellie seemed to care about the other girl. At the very least, the things that Katherine had done to them was nowhere near as long a list as the things that Damon and even Stefan had done.

After their food was brought to them, Katherine questioned, “So what else is bothering you?” Ellie looked a bit surprised as Katherine added, “You said whatever was wrong that you didn’t want to talk about it over the phone.

Ellie glanced at Jenna before sighing. “Isobel, mine and Elena’s birth mother, showed up out of nowhere last night saying she wanted to come in. I had no idea that she was even alive. This whole time, Elena never bothered to tell me.”

“She didn’t tell you about Isobel?” Katherine asked curiously.

“You knew?” Ellie asked. She couldn’t help that she felt slightly betrayed.

“I didn’t know that you didn’t know. If I had, I would have told you. It just never came up and I assumed that she would have at least confessed that much when you called her out.” Katherine told her, and Ellie had no reason to doubt her. She was well aware that Katherine would do anything to spite Elena, so she wouldn’t intentionally help Elena keep a secret like that.

“You really seem to dislike Elena.” Jenna commented before she bit into her burger.

Katherine scoffed. “That’s an understatement. No offense, but I wouldn’t exactly be heartbroken if she died.” Jenna was aware of this, but it was strange seeing someone that looked like her nieces be so malicious. “Little Elena likes to act like a saint, but people have died because of her choices, and yet, somehow, there’s always someone else to take the blame and her conscience gets to remain clear. At least when I fuck up, I know it’s on me. I don’t use someone else as a scapegoat.”

Jenna was sure that Katherine was thinking of the death of her family. Maybe even about her daughter being taken away. Suddenly, Jenna somewhat understood why Ellie liked the other girl. In a way, she was an interesting mix of both Ellie and Elena, but also something else entirely. There was no way she would have ever been just like the twins when she had five hundred years of a life on the run. “Ellie told me that a man named Klaus was coming. Do you know much about him? She told me you knew him when you were human.”

“Oh, I know plenty about him. And only very little did I like. He had seemed nice enough at first. I was wrong about him though. He’s going to find them eventually. He’s nothing if not consistent.” Katherine warned. She stood by what she said, she would be completely fine if Klaus sacrificed Elena. She wouldn’t even bat an eye. But Ellie had wormed her way under Katherine’s skin just enough for her to give a damn on whether or not the witch lived or died.

“Do you know how he thinks?” Jenna inquired.

“I know enough about him to stay ahead of him. I also know that when he gets here, the moment he finds out Ellie’s a witch, it’s going to be Elena that he wants to sacrifice.” Katherine told them. Of that she was certain.

Ellie’s face drained of color. “You’re sure?” She asked worriedly.

“Without a doubt. You’re too valuable, Ellie. Had you been a regular witch, he would have still thought about it before he decided if you lived or died. But a doppelgänger witch? Do you have any idea how rare that is? Doppelgängers are rare already, which makes you even rarer. He won’t kill you unless someone monumentally fucks up. If I wanted to make a bet, I’d say he’d go to great lengths to keep you safe.” Katherine explained.

Jenna mentally cursed herself for the small amount of relief she felt that at least one of her nieces should be safe. She would still not forgive herself if Elena died. Miranda would never forgive her. “Klaus and his witches.” Ellie sighed.

“Klaus and his witches.” Katherine repeated. She had told Ellie a while back at how Klaus loved keeping a group of witches around to keep him safe.

Jenna turned towards her niece. “You said that Damon and Stefan were keeping Elena safe. So who’s keeping you safe?”

“Well, I like her enough to keep an eye on her.” Katherine shrugged. She knew the boys could be very one track minded. And Elena, that little brat, was surely taking all of their focus.

Ellie gave Katherine a fond smile before turning back to Jenna and saying, “I have Katherine, and I do have some ability to protect myself.” She hesitated before adding, “Dr. Martin and Luka had been looking after me. And Elijah had promised to keep me safe.”

Katherine didn’t react much to where the two of them could see, but she’d almost forgotten that Ellie had been working with Elijah. She wasn’t sure how she felt about him promising to protect Ellie. He hadn’t given Katherine such an offer. He’d even gone so far to hunt her in the woods. She wasn’t sure if Ellie realized it, but when she spoke of the Original, her heart would give a little tick. A beat just a little too fast. She wasn’t sure if it was a crush, or just admiration for Elijah. But Katherine was sure that Ellie felt _something_ for him. Did Ellie even know how her body reacted when he was brought up?

She hadn’t noticed Ellie’s reaction for a while, but when she did, it was something she caught easily every time. Katherine couldn’t entirely blame Ellie for whatever she felt for Elijah, because Katherine had also been taken with him. Sometimes she thought she still was, but she also still had feelings for Stefan. If she were going to try and get one of them back, she’d go for Stefan. Taking him from Elena would just be a bonus. 

Jenna knew that Damon and Stefan had found a way to take him out of the picture, though they didn’t actually kill him. When Ellie had revealed that Klaus and Elijah were brothers, it had been hard to try and figure out what could have happened between the two that could push Elijah to the point that he thought he had to kill his own brother. Ellie refused to tell her. She said it was a personal matter and that it wasn’t her place to say. While she was still curious, she didn’t press the matter. “I would feel better if Elijah were still able to protect you.” Jenna said as she snacked on her fries.

“Me too.” Ellie confessed, her voice somewhat quiet. “But I have no idea where he is, and no one seems inclined to tell me. I just have to keep practicing to try and get stronger. Especially since Bonnie’s lost her powers. With Dr. Martin dead, I don’t think she’ll ever get them back.”

Ellie felt awful for her friend. She couldn’t imagine having her magic ripped away like that. “How is she dealing with it?” Jenna asked.

“Not too well, and that was before his death. I can’t imagine how she’s feeling now.” Ellie said.

It was an interesting dynamic, Katherine decided. The relationship that Ellie had with her aunt was so different than any relationship Katherine would have had with any of her family when she’d been human. Everything was much more formal back then. The only people that Katherine had ever felt relaxed and truly comfortable with had been her mama and Malina. Her father had been incredibly strict. When it came to her aunts and uncles, they barely had any kind of relationship at all.

Maybe it was because Ellie and Jenna were relatively close in age. Or maybe times had changed and it wasn’t uncommon to have this kind of closeness with your family. But the two of them didn’t miss a beat, and somehow managed to get Katherine involved with the conversation they were having. If Jenna didn’t think about it, it really felt no different than if she were having a conversation with Ellie and Elena.

After a while, sound erupted from the watch around Jenna’s wrist. “What’s the alarm for?” Ellie asked curiously as she finished off her drink.

“My ever so dedicated thesis advisor has yet another revision that I need to complete. It’s my alarm telling me that I need to get back to work.” Jenna sighed. “I will be so happy when I graduate.”

“The last thing we need is to give them a reason to give you more crap than they already do. So we should probably go.” Ellie said and the three of them started to stand. “Were you done eating, Katherine?” Ellie asked.

Katherine nodded her head as she slid out of the booth. “That’s fine. There’s somewhere I need to be anyways.” Katherine replied. “I can get myself there, but call me if you need anything.”

“I will.” Ellie agreed. “See you later.”

“See you later.” Katherine strolled out of The Grill, and then she was out of eyesight, headed to who knew where.

After they paid, Jenna confessed, “She’s not so bad.”

Ellie grinned as she turned the car on. “Don’t let her hear you say that. I think her having a tough exterior is very important to her. But you’re right, she’s not so bad. Although she’s not a saint either.” Ellie replied. “But at least she’s never pretended to be.”

* * *

Ellie had just finished putting flowers on Dr. Martin and Luka’s graves, as well as the graves of her parents when her phone buzzed. It was a text message from Elena.

_Where are you right now? It’s important._

She replied, telling Elena where she was but Elena didn’t text back. That was strange. No matter how rocky their relationship was currently, Elena wouldn’t say something was important and then not respond. When several minutes passed with no response, Ellie began calling Elena, hoping that she would answer. All she got was a recording telling her to leave a voicemail. “Elena, where are you? Why aren’t you answering your phone? Did something happen?”

“She’s alright.” Isobel spoke from behind Ellie. The young witch whipped around, but something pierced into her neck and suddenly there were two Isobels before her. “It’s ok, don’t fight it.” As she began to lose consciousness, she spotted Elena, passed out in the backseat of Isobel’s car. Her magic faltered, she didn’t have a strong enough grip to stay awake and fight Isobel off. Finally, she collapsed into Isobel’s arms.

Sometime later, Ellie stirred as the car went over a particularly large bump. It immediately took her back to her first meeting with Elijah. How Trevor had wanted to drink from Elena. How scared she’d been because she hadn’t known that vampires even existed. Somehow, this was worse. She’d failed to protect herself and Elena _again_. How could she protect them from Klaus if she couldn’t even protect them from their own birth mother?

Elena was still passed out, her head in Ellie’s lap. Isobel didn’t seem to be aware that Ellie was awake. Not long after she woke, Isobel’s phone began to ring. “Are we good to go?” Isobel asked. She tried to listen to see who the person on the other end was, but it was too quiet. “We’ll be long gone before that.” Isobel told them. “I’m sorry, Katherine.” Ellie’s stomach plummeted. “I had to do what I was told. He wanted the moonstone, and he wanted you.”

That was when Elena brought a hand to her head, and Ellie held up a finger to tell her to be quiet. She couldn’t get past the sudden fear she had for Katherine’s safety. The only person she knew of that would want the moonstone and Katherine, was Klaus. “Where are you taking us?” It was Elena that broke the silence.

“We’re almost there. Don’t worry.” Isobel said. She sounded entirely unconcerned that she’d kidnapped her own daughters. A minute or so later, they approached a cemetery. The strange man that sat in the front passenger’s seat unnerved Ellie. He didn’t say anything, didn’t even really have a reaction to anything. Once they parked, the man got out and opened the door for Isobel, and then the door for Ellie and Elena. When Elena didn’t immediately follow, Isobel said, “Just because you can’t be compelled doesn’t mean I can’t force you to come with me.”

“So is that what happened?” Elena questioned as she finally stepped out. “You were compelled to betray Katherine?”

“If I was, I couldn’t tell you.” Isobel replied as the man closed the doors, before getting in the car and driving off. Ellie was going to take that as Isobel had been in fact compelled, which meant she’d come in contact with Klaus.

“So you lied.” Elena said. “You did find Klaus, didn’t you? He knows where we are now. Are you taking us to him?”

“I think if she were, we wouldn’t be meeting him in a cemetery.” Ellie commented as she followed Isobel. She was careful to make sure that she stayed between the two of them at all times. At least now she was more than prepared for Isobel to try something.

Isobel stopped and knelt as Elena asked, “What is this?”

Ellie felt her heart clench as she read the headstone. It was Isobel’s grave. “My parents, your grandparents, they put it here when it became clear that the police weren’t gonna find my body.” Isobel explained. She had a fond look on her face when she spoke of her parents. “They visit every week, and they bring flowers, even though there’s no one buried here. The Isobel they knew is dead. So maybe there’s a part of me that’s buried here, the… the human part. The part that I abandoned when I… when I chose to become a vampire. The part that used to dream about the day that she’d know her daughters.”

Isobel looked so sincere, so lost in a memory of herself that was gone. It was painful to know that the vampire in front of her had once been her mother that missed her and Elena terribly. That the vampire in front of her had once longed to be with them again. The vampire that had loved them. “What?” Elena asked softly.

“And instead the two of you got to meet the other part. The part that would betray her own flesh and blood.” Isobel said as her phone began to ring again. Elena stepped away and Ellie followed. She didn’t know how to process what was happening. “Yes.” Isobel said. “Let them go?” She asked in confusion as both Ellie and Elena turned to face her. “I’m done?” Isobel let out a breath of relief as she hung up the phone.

“Who was that?” Ellie asked.

“I am so sorry, Elena, that I was such a disappointment to you.” Isobel said. “And Ellie, you’ll never know how sorry I am that I didn’t spend more time with you, and that this is the mother you got to meet, instead of the version of me you deserved.” Ellie’s eyes watered slightly. Suddenly, Isobel ripped off her necklace and flames erupted on her skin.

“No! No!” Ellie cried, she used her magic as she tried to stop the flames. Though they were smaller, the fire continued to spread across Isobel’s body as she let out pained screams. “No!” She must have still had the drugs in her system, because no matter how desperately she tried, the flames consumed Isobel and she dropped to the ground. Isobel wasn’t screaming anymore, but both Ellie and Elena sobbed into one another as the fire continued to burn.

“She’s gone.” Elena said as she regained her composure.

Ellie, on the other hand, was still struggling to catch her breath as the fire died out. She walked over and picked up what had been Isobel’s daylight necklace. “We need to call Stefan or somebody to come get us.” Ellie said softly as she clutched the necklace tightly. There were too many deaths. Too many people she cared about were dying back to back. Even though she and Isobel hadn’t really had a relationship, she was still their biological mother and that meant something. 

While Elena called Stefan, Ellie sat near the road. She couldn’t handle being any closer to Isobel’s body. There was a certain numbness that consumed her. Like she had reached her limit for hurt and her body was shutting down to protect her. That’s probably what was happening, but she couldn’t care enough to stop it. It was better than breaking down in hysterics again. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Stefan’s car pulled up beside her. “Ellie are you ok?” He asked softly as he helped her stand.

“No.” She replied as she ran her fingers across the pendant. “We can’t just leave her body there.”

“I know. Why don’t you and Elena get in the car and I’ll take care of Isobel?” Stefan suggested. She didn’t wait for Elena to join her before she climbed into the back seat. She zoned out, focusing on the pendant until Stefan and Elena finally joined her in the car. The ride back to Mystic Falls was silent but Ellie noticed the way Elena kept a tight grip on Stefan’s hand. It must be nice to have that kind of comfort.

When they got back to Mystic Falls, Stefan brought them to the boarding house. It reminded Ellie suddenly that Katherine was in very real danger, and it made her feel sick. But she wasn’t currently in the position to do anything to help the other girl. She followed Elena inside, not particularly paying attention to her surroundings. “Ellie, why don’t you sit down?” Elena suggested as she pulled Ellie down to sit next to her.

She was still fiddling with the necklace when Stefan approached. “Is that Isobel’s?” He questioned.

Ellie nodded as Elena spoke up and said, “I never thought I would feel bad about her being dead, and yet…”

“She was your mother.” Stefan said in understanding.

“Why did they let us go?” Elena asked.

Stefan shook his head. He had no answer for that. “Well, anything John told Isobel, we have to assume that Klaus knows, right? So he knows that you’re not gonna turn yourself into a vampire. He knows that you have us keeping you safe.” Stefan said.

“He knows I’m not gonna run.” Elena said as her eyes widened.

“Which is why we need to take some precautions, cause we got played, all of us.” Damon said as he shot a look at Ellie before dropping a stack of papers in Elena’s lap.

Ellie straightened up suddenly and looked over to the brothers in a panic. “Did you guys tell John that I’m a witch?” She asked.

“I didn’t, did you?” Stefan looked over to Damon.

Damon scoffed. “Why would I tell John anything?” When Stefan gave him a look, Damon rolled his eyes and confirmed, “No, I didn’t tell John.”

“What’s this?” Elena asked as she looked at the papers in her lap.

“It’s the deed to our house.” Stefan explained. “It’s in Zach’s name. As soon as you sign it, it’ll be in your name.”

“You’re giving me your house?” Elena questioned.

“Isobel had the right idea with the safe house.” Stefan told her. They must be talking about some sort of meeting they’d had with her that she hadn’t been a part of. “You’ll just stay here till it’s all over. That way, you can control who gets invited in and who doesn’t.”

“Although I’ll be super pissed if you lock me out.” Damon joked. Had Ellie’s emotions not been so drained and out of sorts, she might have even laughed.

A sudden, ragged gasp caught Ellie’s attention and her focus shot over to the side, where John was laying on the ground. Ellie and Elena both stood and Damon was over to John in an instant, holding him up by the collar of his shirt. “I swear, I had no idea what she was gonna do.” John panted. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” He apologized.

“Damon, let him go.” Elena said. “He and I need to talk.” Damon didn’t look happy about it, but he dropped John unceremoniously. 

Elena and Ellie took a seat on one couch, with John sitting on the couch across from them as Stefan and Damon left the room. It seemed that John didn’t need prompting, because he jumped right into it. “I always knew that she and Katherine were close, but I never realized that Isobel and her were working against me.” He confessed. “Two of the world’s most uncaring and selfish vampires, and yet they were genuinely friends.”

“If that’s what you thought of her, why did you ever put your trust in her at all?” Elena asked.

John looked lost in a memory as he replied, “Because I was there when she gave birth to the two of you, Elena. I saw how heartbroken she was to give you two up. And because she was the first girl I ever loved, and when she said she’d help keep you both safe… I believed her. At this point, I will do whatever you want me to do. If you feel safer with me not around, then I’ll go.”

Ellie looked down at the pendant she held onto. John was officially the only living parent she and Elena had. He sighed and began to stand when Ellie bumped her knee to Elena’s. “You screw up everything, John.” Elena told him and Ellie shot her a look. “Everything you touch just falls apart. But you’re the only parent Ellie and I have left. So maybe we can learn not to hate you.”

There was a look of relief on John’s face at her statement. “Ok.” He agreed.

“It would be a step in the right direction if you could drive me to where my car is.” Ellie suggested. John looked even more relieved.

“Of course.” He agreed. “Elena, do you need a ride?”

“I’m gonna stay here for a bit.” She told him.

John nodded and brought Ellie out to his car. He noticed her holding tightly to the necklace and said, “Are you going to be ok?”

She shrugged. “I know I didn’t know her, but she was still my mom. I wish I’d gotten the chance to know her before she was a vampire.”

“You would have loved her and she would have loved you.” John told her confidently. “I think she’d be happy knowing you kept her necklace.” It brought Ellie a small peace of mind, and with Klaus having arrived, it would probably be one of the last times she felt so calm for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
> 
> Posted: 10/17/20


	37. The Last Dance

**Chapter 37: The Last Dance**

_ April 26, 2010 _

It was strange for Ellie to realize just how much she missed Katherine and Elijah. The death of Dr. Martin and Luka had also left an emptiness in her that she didn’t really want to think about. It hurt too much to do so. At least she maybe had a shot at saving Katherine and Elijah. Speaking of Elijah, Ellie hoped that he wouldn’t be too annoyed that she’d taken up residence in his apartment. She’d grown to kind of like this place. She’d set up wards around the apartment to keep out any threat since she wasn’t sure if vampires could come and go when they pleased.

On the plus side, Bonnie had gotten her magic back from Dr. Martin before he died as well as a plan for taking out Klaus. She and Bonnie had been working tirelessly together as well as with the witches. It had been a while since she’d visited Emily, so getting to go see her was really nice. It took a while to explain Ellie’s connection to Emily and the other witches to Bonnie. The other girl had been shocked when she found out that Emily and Ellie had first met and talked way back when Emily possessed Bonnie.

The two of them had talked about whether or not Ellie should also take on the power of the witches, but both Emily explained that since Ellie had an object to channel her with, she didn’t need to perform a ritual to get access to their magic and that Emily could channel her magic and the other witches into that bracelet if it became a necessity. Practicing with Bonnie, when it was an actual fight against another living with, was amazing.

It had been something new for Bonnie, the other girl hadn’t really had practice fighting against someone. Ellie insisted on it being a common occurrence. If Bonnie was going to try and take out Klaus, she needed to be prepared to fight. Bonnie had improved a great deal. It made Ellie incredibly proud. It was nerve wracking though. Klaus was in Mystic Falls, or at least close, but they had no idea where he was or what he looked like. Katherine never got the chance to describe him for Ellie.

The past couple of weeks had been oddly therapeutic when it came to where Ellie stood when it came to Elena, Damon, and Stefan. She didn’t particularly trust them, especially Damon, but at least now she could look at them without wanting to set something on fire. If she had to guess, part of that willingness to work with them, came from so many of their lives hanging in the balance. And no matter how mad she was at Elena, she couldn’t let her sister die. And no matter how much she hated Damon, he and Stefan would do anything it took to protect Elena.

In the time since Isobel’s death, Ellie had especially bonded with Bonnie and Caroline more than they’d been before. Damon and Stefan weren’t really keen on letting Elena out of their sight. So the group came to an agreement. Damon and Stefan would stay near Elena, keeping her safe. But Bonnie and Caroline stuck with Ellie to help keep her safe. Two witches with one hundred witches watching their backs, and an overprotective vampire, made Ellie feel relatively safe. The two Salvatores had even gone so far as giving Elena the house so that she could control which vampires could enter. It was a smart plan.

Where Elena was concerned, she seemed genuinely remorseful about having not told Ellie about Isobel. So Ellie forgave her, at least, she told Elena she did. It would be stupid of her to think that there wasn’t going to be a part of her that was angry for all the lies Elena had told and all the deaths caused by either her or the Salvatores. But, Klaus was here, and for all Ellie knew, she or Elena could end up dead very soon. She didn’t want her last memories of her sister to be ones filled with fighting and hate. So her anger and mistrust could wait until Klaus was dealt with.

That was how she ended up walking through the hall with her arms looped through Elena’s and Bonnie’s. Stefan was following behind them, not so secretly observing every single person they passed. She was sure he was keeping track of the faces they passed, looking for anyone unfamiliar. His diligence was appreciated. The four of them walked into Alaric’s class and quickly took their seats.

Oddly enough, Alaric had been sick for a while, they’d had subs filling in for him while he was gone. From what Ellie heard, no one was really sure what he’d caught, just that he’d felt awful and didn’t want to risk getting anyone else sick. She’d tried to call him, but all she’d gotten was a text back saying that he would be coming back to school soon and to not worry about him.

She was distracted from her thoughts about Alaric when Elena shifted towards Stefan, wiggling a poster for the dance in his direction. She tried not to laugh at Elena’s pout when he shook his head no. Elena didn’t let it get her down for long, because she turned to Ellie and Bonnie and raised her eyebrows expectantly. Bonnie grinned as she nodded in agreement and Ellie did the same. It was amusing to see the way Elena turned back to Stefan smugly. “Hello class.” Alaric said as he strolled into the classroom, clearing his throat. “What are we learning today?”

“With the decade dance tonight, we’ve been covering the sixties all week.” Dana supplied from where she sat at the front of the class.

“Right.” Alaric agreed. “The sixties.” Ellie turned to zip up her bookbag as he paused, and when she looked up, he was staring at her. Unsure of the reason, she gave him a small smile. She’d missed him after all. “The, uh… the sixties. I wish there was something good I could say about the sixties, but they actually kind of sucked.” He told them. “Except for the Beatles, of course. They made it bearable. Uh, what else was there? The Cuban missile thing, the uh… we walked on the moon. There was Watergate.”

“Watergate was the seventies, Ric.” Elena corrected with an amused smile. She seemed to quickly realize that she was a little too casual by calling him by his nickname and as the class turned to look at her, she added, “I mean… Mr. Saltzman.” To be fair, it was easy to sometimes forget that the other students weren’t as close to the man as they were. He was maybe considered their step-dad. How would that work? Ellie still wasn’t sure.

“Right.” Alaric smiled at her. “It all kind of mushes together up here, the sixties, seventies. Thank you, Elena.” 

Everything was going smoothly, but by the time lunch rolled around, Ellie was happy for the break. She was, however, a bit concerned about Alaric. He’d been gone for a while and as far as she was aware, no one was sure what had been wrong. “Hey, Elena, I’m gonna go check in on Alaric and I’ll meet you in the cafeteria. Ok?” She said as she nudged Elena.

Once Elena finished putting her books in her locker, she nodded. “Yeah. Just keep an eye out for anyone that seems out of place.” Elena warned.

“I’d be more worried about you. At least I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve.” Ellie assured her as she walked back towards Alaric’s class. The last of the students were walking out of the room as she walked in. He didn’t notice her immediately since he was wiping the blackboard clean. When he turned back, his eyes widened at the sight of her. “Hey, Ric.” She greeted as she walked further into the room.

“Ellie. It’s good to see you.” He told her as he put the eraser down.

She smiled softly at him. “I could say the same to you. I’ve been worried. Had you gone much longer without being here I probably would have gone to your apartment to make sure you were ok.” She told him. “What had you out so long?”

“I… I don’t know to be honest.” He said. “Maybe it was a bad case of food poisoning or something. I just didn’t know if it was contagious and I didn’t want to get anyone else sick.”

She nodded along with what he was saying. “Yeah, that makes sense. But you’re feeling better now right?”

“Much.” He promised.

Ellie fiddled with Isobel’s necklace for a moment, before she caught him staring at it. “It was Isobel’s.” She told him. “I’ve been wearing it since she died. It’s all I have of her.”

“How are you handling that?” Alaric inquired as he sat on the edge of his desk. “I know that couldn’t have been easy for you to lose her.”

She swallowed hard before replying. “It hasn’t been easy. At all. But I’ve been trying to keep myself busy so that I don’t think about it too much. I just wish I’d had more time with her you know? Or any time at all with the Isobel you married. She must have been pretty great if you married her.” He had a strange look on his face, and she felt suddenly guilty. He’d lost her too. “How are you handling it? I know stuff was complicated, but she was still your wife.”

“It’s been easier than I expected, but really I lost her a long time ago, so this isn’t as hard for me as it might have been otherwise.” Alaric told her. Something seemed kinda off with him, but she just assumed that it was because he didn’t want to talk about Isobel. 

“Have you talked to Jenna?” 

“No, I’ve been trying to give her space to cool down. I shouldn’t have lied to her about Isobel for so long. I never wanted to hurt her.” Alaric confessed.

“I’m sure she’ll come around eventually. She cares about you a lot.” Ellie assured him before glancing at the time on the clock. If she didn’t hurry, the lunch line would be ridiculously long. “I should get to lunch, Elena’s waiting on me, but I’ll see you later.”

He nodded as he stood. “Of course.” He agreed. She started to walk out, before she turned and gave him a tight hug. They hadn’t really hugged much, ever, but with the loss of Isobel and the issues with Jenna, she figured he could use it.

“Hopefully everything gets better soon.” Ellie told him.

He gave her a small smile. “I think that it will.”

Ellie was out the door seconds later and headed towards the cafeteria. She kept an out eye for anyone out of the ordinary, but saw no one. Luckily enough, she did find Elena still waiting in the line for food. “Hey, Ellie, I saved you a spot.” Elena called as Ellie slid in behind her sister. They made their way through the line, picking up stuff to fill their tray, before heading towards the round table that Bonnie and Jeremy were occupying. “Hey, Jer. How you doing? Are you ok at the house alone with John?”

Jeremy was giving Bonnie a significant look as he grabbed his stuff. “It’s not ideal.”

“You haven’t heard from Jenna, have you?” Elena asked.

“Looks like she’s staying on campus. Look, I’m uh… I’m late for class.” He left without saying anything else.

The twins sat down together as they watched him walk away. “What’s going on?” Elena asked curiously. Obviously, Ellie wasn’t the only one that picked up on the feeling that something was going on.

“I told him he had to dress up tonight and he got all uptight.” Bonnie told them as she shook her head at his stubbornness.

“Oh.” Elena said in understanding. “But Ellie, have you talked to Jenna at all?”

Ellie nodded. “Yeah. She’s gonna be staying on campus, but I don’t know how long for. She’s really upset and hurt over being lied to about Isobel, understandably so. If you try and force her to talk to you, she’s only going to stay away longer.”

“You’re right.” Elena agreed sadly. “I just miss her.”

Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of Dana. “Hey, Ellie, there you are. Ok. This is going to sound freaky, but this totally hot guy just asked me to ask you if you’re going to the dance tonight.”

The twins laughed in surprise as the three girls shared a look with each other. “Well who is it?” Bonnie asked curiously. “Maybe you can get a cute date for the dance.”

“You could at least meet him even if you don’t want him to be your date.” Dana said. “He’ll be at the dance tonight. Look for him. His name is Klaus.”

It felt like Ellie’s blood turned to ice in her veins. She could see both Elena and Bonnie’s amused smiles fall away as the three of them began frantically scanning the room. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Elena asked as Ellie scanned the room.

“His… name’s Klaus?” Dana repeated in confusion. “I know the name’s stupid but I swear he’s hot.”

“Where is he? Is he here?” Bonnie questioned.

“I don’t know.” Dana replied.

“She’s been compelled.” Ellie deduced.

“But he wants to know if you’ll save him the last dance. How cute is that?” Dana asked excitedly, the compulsion leaving her oblivious to the danger.

“Very. Thank you Dana.” Ellie said politely. Thankfully, the girl took the hint and left. Ellie closed her eyes as she focused. From her readings in Elijah’s grimoires, she learned that she had the ability to sense supernatural beings and concentrations of magics. Everything felt different, depending on what it was. Vampires felt different from witches and ghosts because it was a different supernatural being.

Luckily, Caroline had let her practice on her and they’d basically turned it into a magical version of hide and seek. When Ellie had gotten good at sensing Caroline, she tried it on Bonnie and found that the two felt vastly different. Maybe it was because Bonnie was channeling so many witches, but even if it wasn’t as strong as it was, the energy at the core of it felt different. When she compared the way Stefan and Caroline felt, Stefan’s energy felt stronger, probably because he was older. That meant that finding Klaus should be easy with how old he was. She’d yet to get the chance to use it to find Elijah. “What’s she doing?” Elena asked, though she sounded far away.

“Shh… just give her a second.” Bonnie insisted as Ellie focused. It was like the overwhelming noise of the cafeteria just faded away and within seconds, Ellie could feel Caroline’s energy. She was outside. She found Stefan a second later in the library. It wasn’t an exact location that she got, but she knew from the general and direction and distance where they had to be. But they were the only vampires that she could sense.

“If he was here, he’s not now.” Ellie told them. Bonnie let out a little sigh of relief.

“What did you just do?” Elena asked in confusion.

“I’ll explain it later. I think we need to find Stefan. It’s not safe if Klaus had someone compelled.” Ellie insisted as she stood from her seat, pulling Elena up as well.

“She’s right. Let’s go.” Bonnie agreed. Klaus was closing in on them and they needed to go.

* * *

They had stayed near Stefan and Bonnie as much as they could until school ended, and then they headed straight for the boarding house. Damon was waiting for them when they arrived and Elena launched straight into explaining what had happened. When Elena was done, Damon replied, “So we go to the dance, we find him.”

“Really?” Stefan asked sarcastically. “How are we going to do that? We don’t even know what he looks like.” It reminded Ellie that she’d yet to find Katherine. She’d even tried locator spells, since they were blood related. It didn’t even move on the map. Which meant either someone had a cloaking spell on her or she was… Ellie didn’t even want to think about the other option.

“Something tells me he’s not going to be sixteen and pimply.” Damon retorted.

“He could be anywhere at any time.” Stefan reminded him. “He compelled somebody at school. I guess it’s not as safe as you guys thought, huh.”

“Safe enough that he didn’t just attack us.” Ellie reminded him.

Damon turned to her. “What about you, Sabrina? What did you do at school to know that he wasn’t there?” 

She rolled her eyes at the reference but replied, “I found a spell that let’s me locate supernatural beings. Think of it like a supernatural radar. As far as I can tell, witches feel different from vampires and I think even in one group vampires can feel different from one another.” She explained. “I haven’t been around another witch other than Bonnie to test the theory.”

“Well how do you know vampires feel different from one another?” Damon asked.

“I was in class with Caroline and Stefan and tried it. They feel pretty different, but they’re much more similar than Caroline and Bonnie. The way Stefan feels when I sense him feels a lot stronger. I just assumed it was because he was older. But if that theory is correct, Klaus should be way easier to spot since he’s a thousand years old.” Ellie explained.

“Can you control it?” Stefan questioned curiously. “How far out does your range go?”

“I’m not sure of the limit yet, but I could sense you in the library from the cafeteria pretty easily.” Ellie explained.

“Would you be able to tell if Damon felt different from Caroline and I?” He asked and when she nodded, he suggested. “Try sensing us now, everyone in the room. The larger sample size you’ve got the more accurate it should be right?”

She closed her eyes and focused once more. She could feel all of their energies almost immediately. To her surprise, even Elena put out a magical signature. Hers was the most different from everyone else. Since she knew where everyone was standing, it was easy to tell them apart. Damon and Stefan were very similar, but even still she could feel the difference.

What caught her off guard was the fifth energy that hit her all of a sudden. It was strong and powerful, nearly overwhelmingly so. There was only one person she knew that would throw off energy like that. She’d found Elijah. He’d been in the house this entire time. She doubted that Stefan had expected her to sense Elijah when he was daggered, but she wasn’t going to give herself away just yet. When she opened her eyes, Elena was looking at her expectantly. “Did it work?”

“It did. Stefan and Damon are the most similar, but it doesn’t surprise me since you’re so close in age to one another and you’re brothers. But despite being similar, Damon’s energy was like… how do I describe it. He's at a higher frequency… maybe faster would be a better way to describe it.”

Damon made a face before asking, “Like playing the same chords in different keys?”

“That’s actually a really good way to describe it.” Ellie agreed.

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. It opened to relief Alaric as he walked in. “There you are.” Damon said. He must have called Alaric when they were headed to the boarding house.

“Sorry I’m late.” Alaric apologized with a breathy laugh.

“Hey, I need you to put me down as a chaperone at the dance tonight. Klaus made his first move.” Damon explained.

“Ellie, Damon could be your date to the dance.” Bonnie said as she grinned innocently at the other witch.

Ellie made a face of minor disgust at the thought. “Pretty sure he’s too old for that.” When she saw the face he made in return she shrugged and said, “No offense, mostly.”

He scoffed. “Offense taken.”

“Ok, so we find him and then what, hmm? What’s our plan of attack?” Elena questioned worriedly.

Bonnie looked at her and then at Ellie and Damon. “Me.” Bonnie said simply. “I’m the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel. If you find him, I can kill him.” Bonnie said confidently.

“That’s not going to be that easy.” Alaric reminded her. “I mean, he is the biggest, baddest vampire around.”

“Alaric has a point. I mean, what if he…” Damon said before lunging at Bonnie. The witch held up her hand, flinging him across the room with ease.

“Well, I was impressed.” Stefan said and Ellie couldn’t help but snort in amusement. Damon didn’t need to know that both Ellie and Bonnie had been practicing to protect themselves from that exact move. It seemed like the most logical way a vampire would try to take them by surprise. Caroline had very generously volunteered to be the vampire they slung around.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s an Original. I can take down anyone who comes at me.” Bonnie assured them. “I can kill him, Elena. I know I can.” Once they were done with their Klaus prep, Stefan had generously let Bonnie and Ellie search through the old clothes from past Salvatores to find a good outfit for tonight. It didn’t take long to find something she liked and the two witches headed back to Bonnie’s place to get ready. “So how are you?” Bonnie asked as they set out their makeup.

“What do you mean?” Ellie asked curiously as she plugged in the straightener.

“I mean, you and Caroline and I have been fine. But stuff still seems kinda funky between you and Elena, even though I know you’re trying to be nice.” Bonnie confessed.

Ellie sighed as she moved to sit on Bonnie’s bed. “You and Caroline, everything’s fine with the two of you. The secrets you kept were because Elena insisted that that was the best plan of action. But I don’t trust her anymore, Bon. It makes me feel awful because you’re supposed to be able to trust your family and I don’t. But it’s even worse because despite that I don’t have it in me to fight her right now.”

“Why’s that?” Bonnie questioned.

“Because one of us is going to end up dead Bonnie. Maybe all of us if we’re not careful.” Ellie said tiredly. Bonnie looked shocked at Ellie’s confession. “Bonnie, if I die, I don’t want Elena’s last memories of me thinking that I hate her. If she dies, I don’t want my last memories with her being ones where we’re at each other’s throats.”

“No one is going to die.” Bonnie insisted. “I can kill him.”

Ellie had a pained expression. “Bonnie, I know you’re powerful, and I think you with the witches backing you up is our best shot without Elijah, but Bonnie… you’re only seventeen. Klaus is a thousand year old ruthless vampire. I have to be prepared for what happens if we can’t stop him.”

Bonnie faltered, Ellie almost looked like she had already accepted her own death. “Ellie if it fails…”

“Then I will be the one Klaus sacrifices. I don’t know if he’s aware I’m a witch, so it shouldn’t matter to him which one he sacrifices. Before mom died, I promised her I would always look after Elena and Jeremy, to the best of my abilities. I couldn’t save my mom, and I have already lost too many people I care about. I don’t think I could survive Elena’s death weighing on my shoulders.” Ellie explained.

“When did you promise your mom that?” Bonnie questioned.

“I’d told mom about the issues Elena and Matt were having, and how I tried to help but Elena wasn’t listening to me. I told her I felt like a bad big sister because I didn’t know what to do.” Ellie told her. “Mom asked me to promise to always look out for the two of them, and that as long as I always did my best I would never be a bad big sister.”

Bonnie reached forward and took a hold of Ellie’s hand. “Ellie, I don’t think dying was what your mom meant.”

“Well she definitely didn’t mean to do nothing and let Elena die.” Ellie shot back. “Maybe we somehow make it through this and everyone survives, then I’ll deal with my issues for Elena. But for right now, I just want to enjoy the time I have left with my friends and family in case it's the last chance I get.”

It was painful to see her friend so resigned to her own death. But she understood what Ellie felt because it was the same way Bonnie felt. She was acutely aware that there was a good chance that she was going to die when she used all of her powers against Klaus. If she survived the night, she would tell Ellie about it. But like Elena, Ellie would never let her go through with the plan if she knew the odds of Bonnie dying. Ellie however, was more likely to trap in her house so that she couldn’t go through with it. Elena could only be mad with her.

Thankfully, despite not liking it, Jeremy seemed to have kept his mouth shut about the warning the witches had given her. Emily also hadn’t mentioned anything about it in the visits they’d had with her. She didn’t want to think about the fact that she might die tonight, just like Ellie didn’t want to fight with Elena. “Well, we might as well look amazing for tonight then.” Bonnie said as she put on a smile for her friend.

* * *

After they’d gotten ready, Ellie had gone back to the house to pick up her camera. If tonight was the last night they were all alive, she wanted pictures together of the moments that they were happy. She’d agreed to meet the others at the dance, and in her few moments alone, several conflicted feelings stirred in her stomach.

Before Tyler had run off, whenever there was a dance and she couldn’t go with one of the girls, he had always been her date. He would have been her date tonight had he not left. Even after he had left, she and Luka had planned on going to the dance together. Luka hadn’t really made any true friends at the school other than her and maybe Bonnie. He’d told her he wanted the full Mystic Falls experience when he asked her to go with him. He had been looking forward to it. She could remember him telling her that he was looking forward to a night where they just got to be teenagers without the threat of their families safety weighing them down.

It was painful to know that he would have been in the car with her, laughing about the stupid music the dance was sure to play. Caroline had witnessed more than a few of Ellie’s breakdowns following his loss. As her eyes began to water, she cranked the music loud in her car. Maybe if she played the music loud enough, she could drown out the sound of her memories.

When she arrived, it looked like everyone else from school had already arrived. The decorations looked amazing, but with Caroline in charge that was no surprise. As she walked towards the entrance, she saw Stefan, Elena, Jeremy, and Bonnie all talking together. “Hey!” Jeremy called and she walked over to them.

“Ellie, you look great.” Elena complimented.

“So do you. Stefan’s relatives had pretty good fashion for their day.” Ellie joked as she let Elena pull her into a hug. Ellie held her tightly as she willed away the tears. She would not let Elena die. She gave Elena one last quick squeeze before pulling away.

“You guys ready to do this?” Stefan asked.

Everyone nodded, but Ellie paused. “Wait! We need pictures!” She insisted. Jeremy groaned, but no one stopped her as they took turns taking pictures near the hippie van. Ellie was aware they were all nervous, but for just a moment, they forced their fears away so that they could take the pictures before heading inside.

“We saw Damon just a second ago, he’s probably still close by.” Bonnie said. 

Ellie hadn’t even needed to use her magic to sense him. She spotted him and pointed him out and the group moved towards him. “Well don’t you all look so… groovy.” Damon said with a grin. Both Ellie and Elena rolled their eyes at him, but they didn’t reply. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

They all walked inside and when they made it to the gym, it was absolutely packed. A slow song had been playing, but it cut off as Dana made her way up to the mic. “Thanks for being here, everybody.” The crowd cheered in response. “We have a special shout-out tonight. This is for Ellie, from Klaus.”

Once the song started playing, Damon rolled his eyes. “That was a lame, cheap shot.” He scoffed. Even though they weren’t best friends, him being supremely unimpressed made her feel a little bit better. “He’s just trying to bait us.”

Elena glanced around the gym before supplying, “I know everyone here.”

“Maybe he’s not here. He just wants us to believe that he is.” Stefan suggested. “Ellie, do you think you could scan the room and sense him?”

“Yeah, his signature should stand out if he’s here.” Ellie said. It was helpful that she now knew what Elijah felt like. That should make finding Klaus easier. Scanning the room didn’t take long. She found an unfamiliar energy and jerked her head towards it, but relaxed when she saw Alaric standing there. It was strange though, that he put off a signature. But when she felt the energies of the people around her, Jeremy did as well. So she brushed it off as their magic rings being the cause of it. “I don’t feel anything.”

Both Bonnie and Elena seemed to ease up a bit. “It’s a party people, blend. Let him come to us.”

“Good idea.” Bonnie agreed.

“No, no, I really don’t feel like dancing.” Jeremy denied.

“Too bad.” Bonnie said as she pulled him further onto the dance floor.

“There’s Ric.” Damon said. “I’ll be back.”

Ellie looked at Elena and Stefan before saying, “I’ll come with you.”

He gave her a look but didn’t stop her from tagging along. “What? Didn’t want to be a third wheel?” He asked sarcastically.

“Did you?”

“Fair enough.” He replied as they walked over to Alaric.

Alaric was staring into the crowd as they approached. Ellie moved to stand on his left while Damon stood on his right. “Special dedication, huh? This guy’s a little twisted. You must be spooked.” He said as he spared a glance at Ellie.

“I’m not impressed.” Damon scoffed.

“No?” Alaric asked in surprise.

Damon shook his head. “Let me know if you see anything out of whack.” Damon instructed before walking off, leaving Ellie with Alaric.

She watched Damon as he scanned the crowd. Not so far off, she could Elena and Stefan dancing together. Bonnie and Jeremy weren’t far from them. When Stefan turned to look at someone in the distance, Ellie also turned, and let out a small sigh of relief to see that it was just Caroline and Matt. “If you’ll excuse me, Ric. I have pictures to take.” She said. “Oh! You look nice by the way.”

“Hey.” Stefan said as he fell in step with her. “You headed over to Caroline and Matt?”

“Yeah. They don’t know what’s going on, plus I need my pictures with them. Caroline and I have taken pictures together at every dance we’ve ever been to. I’m not letting Klaus mess up the tradition now.” Ellie told him.

He smiled at that and nodded as they walked towards the couple together. “Hey, guys.”

“Hey.” Caroline greeted.

“Hey man, what’s up?” Matt said. “Ellie you look pretty tonight.”

“Thanks, Matty.” She grinned.

Stefan looked to Matt and asked, “Hey, do you mind if I steal your date for a moment?”

“No, not at all.” Matt replied. “I’ll get us something to drink.”

Ellie stopped him before he could walk off. “Wait, wait, you’re not getting out of pictures that easily.” She informed him. He gave her a small smile once she was satisfied with the pictures, she let him go. “Ok, to the drink you go.”

Matt laughed at her antics, but went off towards the drink station. Once he’d walked away, Caroline looked at them seriously. “What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Klaus is here.” Stefan confessed.

“What?” Caroline asked as her voice dropped lower and she nervously scanned the room.

“Yeah.”

“Where?” Caroline questioned.

Stefan told her, “We have no idea. But keep your eye out for anything that might be weird, ok?”

“Then how do you know he’s here?” Caroline questioned.

Ellie rolled her eyes. “He gave me a special song dedication, and earlier at lunch he compelled Dana to ask me to save him the last dance.” Caroline frowned. “I haven’t seen or sensed him anywhere. Just… just stay with Matt, it should be fine.”

“Well, I guess we should leave you guys to it.” Stefan said as Matt returned. She followed him to where Elena and Jeremy were standing, but she made a face as Jeremy started to walk away. “Hey, is everything alright?”

“I’m not sure.” Elena confessed.

Ellie watched after him worriedly. “Something’s bugging him. I should go check on him.”

“We need to be sticking together.” Elena reminded her.

“That’s fine. I’ll go with her, you stay here where Damon can see you.” Stefan suggested. Elena nodded before Ellie and Stefan went after Jeremy. “You got any idea what’s up with him?”

With a shrug, she replied, “No clue. But something is definitely bothering him.” They caught up with him in an empty hallway. “Jeremy!” Ellie called.

He turned around reluctantly and Stefan asked, “What are you doing? Elena thinks we should stick together.”

“Yea, I’m fine. I’ve got my ring.” Jeremy said as he held his hand up to display it. He knew better than to think that Ellie couldn’t read him like a book. She gave him a significant look before he sighed and confessed, “It’s… it’s Bonnie.”

“What is it?” Stefan asked worriedly. “Hey, you got something on your mind, spit it out.”

“Jer…” She said as she squeezed his hand.

He swallowed hard before he told them, “If Bonnie takes on Klaus, channeling all that energy’s going to kill her.”

Her breath caught in her throat. The witches had never told her that. They hadn’t said that Bonnie may die. “What?” Ellie asked in shock. It suddenly made sense why Bonnie had understood her fears so well. She had also accepted death to protect everyone else.

“But she didn’t want Ellie and Elena to know, cause if they knew, you guys were going to try to stop her.” Jeremy said. Bonnie wasn’t wrong. “And then it’s you guys that could end up dead, so… what am I supposed to do?”

“Stefan, Elena needs to know. Go tell her,  _ now _ .” Ellie insisted. Once Stefan was gone Ellie turned to Jeremy and hugged him tightly. “You should have never been in that situation Jeremy, I’m so sorry.”

He looked defeated. “What was I supposed to do, Ellie? It was either have yet another girlfriend die, or have more of my family die. How was I supposed to make that choice?”

“You did what you could, Jer.” Ellie assured him. “Listen, I’m gonna go to the bathroom. Why don’t you head back to the dance?”

“Yeah, ok.” He agreed and Ellie walked to the bathroom and resisted the urge to vomit. Out of everybody’s deaths she had tried to prepare for, Bonnie’s hadn’t been one of them. Bonnie was supposed to be one of the safe ones. Once again, she wished Elijah was there. He could help them. But she didn’t have the time to get to the boarding house and undagger him. Klaus could make a move any minute and her leaving could end up with someone really getting killed.

When the pressure in her chest eased up a bit, she forced herself out of the bathroom and down the hall. She started to run when she heard the sounds of a struggle and Damon’s call of, “Hey, idiots!” She rounded the corner right as Jake from math shot an arrow into Damon’s shoulder, only barely missing his heart. All three boys pulled out weapons as Damon asked, “Let me guess, Klaus says hi.”

Her hand shot out and closed sharply and she watched as the three boys fell to ground, unconscious. “How’d you do that?” Jeremy asked in shock.

“Magic.” She said simply. “But what does Klaus get from attacking Jeremy?”

Stefan’s eyes went wide with panic. “The whole thing is a distraction. Go find Bonnie and Elena. I got this. Go.” Stefan insisted.

“Come on, Sabrina. We need to move fast.” Damon said and she didn’t hesitate to run after him. They rushed through the halls, but Damon couldn’t hear them. “Use your radar,  _ now _ !” Damon said, but it was hard to focus when they were running. She’d never tried it before. “Give me something!”

Everything felt shaky, but a sudden burst of magic caught her attention. It could only be Bonnie. “Come on, this way!” She told him as she ran faster, trying hard to reach the source of the burst.

Damon yanked open one of the doors right as another set slammed shut. “What happened?” Damon asked as they came across Elena and Bonnie, both looking frightened.

“Klaus is in Alaric’s body.” Elena panted.

“What?”

“He’s possessing it or something.” Bonnie explained.

“Ellie, take Elena and get back to Stefan,  _ now _ .” Damon instructed. “Now.”

She took a hold of Elena’s hand and they ran back in the direction Ellie and Damon had come from. “We need to move fast, come on.” Ellie’s blood was racing in her veins and her heart was pounding violently in her chest. At least if he was in Alaric’s body, he couldn’t use his vampire speed to chase them down. It gave them a slightly better chance of survival.

Elena’s grip was brutal on her hand, but they were both too scared to let go. When Stefan wasn’t in the hall where he and Jeremy had been, Ellie pulled Elena back into the gym. Klaus wouldn’t get the chance to kill them in a crowd before Stefan could find them. They were speed walking through the crowd when Caroline approached them. “Hey, are you guys ok?”

Matt walked up behind her and Elena lied, “Uh, yeah. I’m just… we’re just looking for Stefan.”

“Seriously, what’s wrong?” Caroline asked worriedly.

“Uh, just, uh, just stay with Matt, ok?” Elena asked and Ellie quickly reached over and squeezed a pattern into Caroline’s hand. A code they’d made up years ago to signal danger. Caroline immediately understood as she stiffened, but Elena spotted Stefan and was pulling Ellie along with her.

“It’s Alaric, Stefan.” Ellie said as she tried to keep her fear in check. “Klaus is in Alaric’s body.”

She could see the surprise that washed over his features. “We need to get out of here.”

“No, he’s after Bonnie, not us.” Elena insisted. 

“What?” Ellie asked as her voice squeaked.

Elena looked frantic as she explained, “He told us that we weren’t on his hit list tonight, but that Bonnie was. We have to find her.”

Stefan nodded along. “Ok, ok let’s go.” They speed walked out of the gym before they took off running again. Her chest was aching painfully and she wasn’t sure if it was from the physical exertion of running all over the school in her heeled boots, or the fear that one of her best friends was about to die.

The three of them nearly skidded to a stop as Damon rounded a corner casually. “There you are.” Damon greeted them.

“What are you doing? Where’s Bonnie?” Elena asked in a panic.

“She’s doing what she has to do.” Damon replied.

“What?” 

“Where is she?” Stefan demanded.

Damon gave him a look. “Stefan, let her do this.”

“Damn it, Damon! Where is she?” Stefan shouted. 

Ellie’s magic flung Damon into the locker with ease. “Where the hell is she, Damon?” The panic had gone from her voice in that moment, replaced with an icy threat. Katherine would have been proud. Even without trying to sense it, a powerful burst of magic down the hall caught her attention. She released Damon, letting him fall roughly to the ground. “I don’t need you for that, I suppose.”

“You know where she is?” Elena asked.

“This way.” Ellie said. She could feel the pull of Bonnie’s magic as they ran through the hall. The sound of strong winds and exploding lights caught their attention and they ran towards it. “Bonnie, no!” Ellie’s shout mixed with Elena’s. When the other witch turned around, she had blood pouring from her nose and Ellie’s eyes widened.

Never had she seen such a bad reaction to using a large amount of magic. At worst, Bonnie had only ever had a small spot of blood but now her face was covered with it. Stefan was trying to slam the doors open, throwing his whole weight into it as Ellie tried to force it open with her magic. But Bonnie had a hundred witches backing her up, and without Emily’s bracelet to help Ellie channel them, she couldn’t overpower the magic keeping them out.

Klaus let out a scream of pain as the lights overhead exploded, and Bonnie’s scream followed his as all three of them frantically beat against the doors. Bonnie turned back to look at them, her expression somehow peaceful and remorseful at the same time. Suddenly, Bonnie’s body contorted at an unnatural angle before collapsing. “No!” The twins screamed as she fell. Ellie could feel the sudden loss of magic as the lights went out and they slammed the door open. “Bonnie, Bonnie! Bonnie, Bonnie, hey, hey!” Elena pleaded as she searched frantically for a pulse. “Stefan, she’s not breathing! Stefan, Stefan, I can’t find her pulse! Stefan, do something, please! Stefan, please just give her blood, do something please!”

“It’s too late. I’m sorry.” Stefan said sadly.

“No!” Elena cried. 

She couldn’t stop the scream that tore from her throat, the rest of the lights exploding violently as glass shattered. “Bonnie!” Ellie screamed.

There were hands on her and she fought against them. “Ellie, Ellie calm down it’s me! It’s Stefan!” He shouted as he pulled her into his grasp. As much as he knew Elena needed comfort, Ellie’s pain was dangerous and she could accidentally hurt one of them without realizing it. Her eyes were glossy but she finally stopped fighting him and he held onto her as they were plunged into darkness once more. Klaus was nowhere in sight.

“Stefan get them out of here. I’ll deal with the body.” Damon said.

Stefan was pulling her to stand as Elena demanded, “What do you mean ‘deal with it’?”

“The sheriff can’t know about this.” Damon said without looking at them. “Last thing we need is another mysterious death.”

“This is Bonnie!” Elena shouted.

Rage filled Ellie as she broke free of Stefan’s hold and slammed Damon into the vending machine. “You were supposed to protect her!” Ellie cried. “We left her with you! We trusted you! How could you let her do this?” The rage and grief were nearly debilitating. “She’s dead Damon! She’s dead!” Her cry was enough to make the vampires wince. It wasn’t entirely intentional, but Damon started to choke as she cut off his air flow in her anger. “Jeremy was afraid of something happening to her!”

The thought of her brother broke her out of her rage. What if something had happened to them. “Jeremy.” Elena gasped as Stefan helped her stand. “Oh my god, Jeremy. What about Jeremy?”

“I’ll find him.” Damon choked out as he brushed the glass off.

“No!” Elena’s cry was broken as Stefan took a hold of them both and tried to make soothing noises as he led them out of the cafeteria. Stefan could feel Ellie shaking from the arm he had wrapped around her. After all of the death that she’d gone through, he’d never seen her break like this. Both of the girls fell silent as he led them to his car and they climbed in without a word. The ride to the boarding house was painfully quiet.

When they arrived, he had to help them out of the car and Ellie might not have even made it inside had he not kept her upright. He’d felt her legs give out underneath her and if he hadn’t been a vampire, he might not have been able to catch her weight and keep Elena steady. The twins sat in two of the chairs and he hastily wrapped thick blankets around them. He wasn’t sure how long it had been when he came back into the room to see them both still shaking. “Hey.” He said softly. “Here, drink this.” He offered them both a glass.

Ellie’s gaze flicked down to the cup, but she made no move to take it. Elena didn’t even spare it a glance. “I can’t.” Elena told him.

“Yeah, yeah, you can.” Stefan assured her as he knelt down next to her. “Please drink this.”

She slowly took the cup and raised it to her mouth, but her hands started to shake as she told him, “This is my fault.” Ellie felt like it was her fault, but she understood where Elena was coming from. They were the doppelgängers, Klaus was supposed to be after them, not their friends.

“No, hey, this was Klaus. Listen to me.” Stefan insisted. “Klaus did this.” She longed for Katherine or even Elijah. Katherine had comforted her over the deaths of Luka and Dr. Martin when she didn’t have to. She’d gone to the lengths of giving them a funeral. Katherine didn’t have to be a saint to give Ellie comfort. Even Elijah, despite having never comforted her in a situation like this, his presence was calming and she needed that desperately.

The door opened and when Damon walked in, Elena demanded, “What did you do with her?”

As Elena pushed herself out of the chair, Damon looked over at Stefan and said, “Will you please calm her down?”

“Don’t talk like I’m not standing right in front of you!” Elena shot back.

“Please calm down.”

“You knew!” Elena cried. “Didn’t you? You knew that if she harnessed all that power, that she would die? Didn’t you?”

“Yes.” Damon confessed. “Yes, I knew.” Elena’s hand flew out and struck him hard against the cheek, his head snapping to the side. Ellie was too numb to really react to it. “You need to listen to me, and prepare for what I’m about to say. Bonnie had to die. Klaus using Alaric’s body was a total surprise. She wasn’t prepared for that. And he wasn’t going to stop, and we weren’t going to be able to stop him until he knew she was dead. He had to  _ believe _ it.”

Ellie shakily stood from where she sat. “What are you saying?”

“She cast a spell. Bonnie’s ok.” He explained.

A weight lifted off of Ellie’s chest as Damon walked out of the room, followed by Stefan. Elena was shaking just like Ellie was as she turned to face her sister. “She’s ok.” Ellie breathed.

“She’s ok.” Elena repeated as she fell into her sister’s arms and they dropped to the floor, crying in relief. They had made it through the night without losing someone they loved. After they’d talked to Bonnie, Elena had lent Ellie a change of clothes and once she was clean, Ellie knew she couldn’t wait any longer.

When Elena went upstairs to talk to Damon, Ellie made her move. She rushed as quickly as she could to the basement. It was surprisingly large and she might not have been able to find him had it not been for her sensing. She came to a door, which looked eerily like a prison door, and she forced open the latch, flinching at Elijah’s dirty body. His suit looked like it had been burned and his skin was an unnatural grey. The dagger was lodged firmly in his chest and she knelt down next to him and with a rough yank, pulled the dagger free. Elena came into the room a second later looking wide eyed. “Elena!” She said in surprise. “I had to.”

For once, she and Elena seemed to be on the same page. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enter Alari-Klaus! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter Elijah returns, are you guys excited? As always, please leave a comment on your thoughts!
> 
> Posted: 10/24/20


	38. Klaus

**Chapter 38: Klaus**

_ April 27, 2010 _

Elena had eventually agreed that she would go upstairs and go to bed with Stefan so that he didn’t realize that they were planning something. After she was gone, Ellie found that she was reluctant to leave the Original and ended up laying in the dirt and falling asleep. At some point, she jerked awake, momentarily confused by her surroundings. Groggily, she reached for her phone to check the time. It was some time after seven in the morning, so she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and started combing through her hair. She turned towards the door when she heard Elena coming down. “Has he woken up yet?” Elena asked as she dropped down next to the door.

“He hasn’t moved an inch.” Ellie explained. Elena moved to take the dagger from where Ellie was clutching it tightly, but Ellie jerked it farther away. “Not a chance in hell, Elena. We need him and I’m pretty sure seeing you with this dagger is gonna leave a bad taste in his mouth.”

“Fine.” Elena said as she moved back to her original position.

Suddenly, Elijah gasped violently as his body contorted towards Ellie. Both girls flinched back, before they scrambled to him. He looked panicked and in pain as Ellie grabbed a hold of his jacket. “Elijah. Elijah!”

It didn’t seem like he was really looking at her. “Katerina.” He breathed.

“No, no, it’s Ellie and Elena. Elijah, breathe.” She pleaded as she tried to calm him.

“Oh my god.” His voice was shaky and Ellie couldn’t help the concern she felt for him. She should have found him and undaggered him sooner. His eyes rolled back in his head as his body went slack. The two of them looked at each other in confusion. Ellie reached to see if she could feel a pulse when his body jerked towards her and Elena sharply in a way that shouldn’t have been possible, forcing them to flinch back against the rock. He forced himself to his feet as he panted. “I can’t… I can’t breathe!” He fell forward and Ellie rushed to help him stand as he asked, “What’s happening to me?”

He tried to rush from the room, only to slam into the wall. “Elijah!” 

She stuck the dagger in the side of her jeans as she moved to support him. “I can’t… I can’t be in this house.”

“Elena the deed… he’s not invited in.”

“You need to get me out of here.” He insisted and they watched as he ran into another wall, before disappearing. They ran after him and found him kneeling just outside the front door. He gave Elena a dirty look and tried to lunge at her, but he couldn’t get past the door. “What happened?” 

They both shushed him and he gave Ellie a strange look but caught Elena gesturing to him that Stefan and Damon could hear. “I’ll tell you, but not here. Can I trust you?” Elena whispered, her voice just barely audible.

“Can I trust  _ you _ ?” Elijah shot back. He wasn’t the one that had broken his word.

“Even if you can’t trust her, you can trust me.” Ellie whispered as she pulled the dagger from her waistband, and offered it up to him. They shared a heavy look, and she nodded at him. His fingers brushed against hers as he slowly took it from her. “Elena, go get some blood bags from the basement, give me your keys, and then meet us in your car.”

Elena nodded and passed over her keys before turning back into the house. Elijah followed her silently to Elena’s car and once it was unlocked, he opened the driver’s side door for her like always. The familiarity of the action was a relief, and before she could think twice about it, she pulled him into a fierce hug. It was a relief to feel him hug her back. “What was that for?” He asked, his voice still rough.

“It’s been a rough few weeks, Elijah.” She said tiredly. Something significant had happened in the time that he’d been daggered. Before it had happened, she hadn’t looked nearly so exhausted, or so sick. Whatever it was had also affected her more than Elena, who for the most part looked fine. “I’m so sorry I didn’t undagger you sooner. I didn’t know where you were.” She apologized. Even if he’d been unable to hear the sincerity in her heartbeat, her expression would have proved it.

“You shouldn’t be blamed for the actions of your sister.” He said as she slid into the seat. He was in the passenger’s seat a moment later. “I do not trust your sister.”

Ellie scoffed. “If we’re honest, neither do I. But I think she’s finally realized how much we need you. She won’t be so stupid as to try and screw you over again. Even if she tried I wouldn’t let her.”

“You seem confident in that.” Elijah noted. His throat hurt. It was scratchy and dry and he was desperately thirsty, but he could put that aside long enough for Elena to return and talk to Ellie while they waited.

“I am a witch. How good of a witch would I be if I let a regular person take down an Original when I’m on the lookout for it?” Ellie asked him with a small shrug. “Besides, you promised to keep me safe. It won’t hurt me to do the same for you.” Their conversation came to a halt as they spotted Elena carefully sneaking out of the house, blood bags in hand. She slid in the backseat and Ellie asked, “Where to?”

“Just drive.” Elena said and Ellie shot a look at Elijah. When he nodded in confirmation, she started the car and pulled from the drive. “Here you go.” Elena said as she handed over the blood bags she'd taken. Ellie watched from the corner of her eye as he drank heavily from the bag. His skin tone slowly shifted back to a normal color as he drank from the second. After a while of aimless driving, Elena spoke up. “Ellie, pull over for a second.”

Once again, Ellie glanced at Elijah and when he seemed not to mind, she pulled over. “Why exactly are we stopping?” Ellie asked as she turned off the car. “You look better, by the way.” Her second comment was directed at Elijah.

“Thank you.” He told her before sparing Elena a glance. “Where did you get the dagger?”

“I’ll tell you everything. But we have to work together, Elijah. I need your word.” Elena insisted.

Ellie couldn’t help it. She scoffed loudly causing them to both look at her. “It’s not like he particularly broke his word to begin with, Elena. That was you.” She said bluntly. 

She spotted the way Elijah gave her a small, amused smirk before he replied, “Your ability to make demands has long passed.” He made no comment about Ellie being right, but they all knew she was.

“No demands. I’m offering you my help. And in return, I want yours.” Elena told him.

“And why should I even consider this?” Elijah questioned. It was almost fascinating to see how differently he spoke when he spoke to Elena. It was colder, even colder than when he and Ellie had first met. But then again, she wasn’t the one that had screwed him over.

“The same reason that you haven’t killed me.” Elena said. “You need my help to kill Klaus. And I need you.” Elena’s cell phone started to vibrate and she quickly answered it. “Yes, I’m fine. He’s right here. No, Stefan, Elijah and I need some time alone.” Elijah was casually observing Elena as she spoke. Elena seemed to be speaking to both him and Stefan when she said, “Elijah is a noble man, Stefan. He lives by a code of honor. I can trust him. He knows that I’d be incredibly stupid to betray him again. By removing the dagger, I have proven myself.”

Ellie’s eyebrow quirked up. Elena had done no such thing, Ellie had. Just because Elena didn’t snitch didn’t mean she got to claim that action as her own. Of course, Elijah caught her reaction and gave her a questioning look. She shook her, hoping that he understood that she’d tell him later. “Sure you did, Elena.” It was under her breath, where Elena couldn’t hear, but Elijah did.

“It’s my decision, Stefan. Please respect it. And make sure that Damon doesn’t do anything stupid. I’ll be in touch.” Elena said before hanging up the phone. Elijah held out his hand for her to pass over the phone and it was amusing to see how reluctant she was before giving it up. He put it in the inside pocket of his ruined jacket.

“Elijah, while you have no particular reason to trust, Elena. We need to work together right now.” Ellie said but she didn’t acknowledge Elena’s annoyed look. “He’s here.” 

She watched as his expression morphed into one of surprise. “Klaus is here?”

The girls nodded as Elena explained. “He’s taken over Alaric’s body.”

“Of course he has.” Elijah said, more to himself than to them. “One of his favorite tricks.”

“Well, what are his other tricks?” Elena asked, almost desperately. “What is he going to do next? You’re the only one who knows him.”

“Yes, I do.” Elijah confirmed, looking lost in thought. “We need somewhere to talk. Eleanor, please take us to the Lockwoods.” Ellie nodded as she started the car back up. In the back, Elena was nervously tapping her foot. The drive wasn’t long, and when they arrived it was a relief to be out of the car. Elena’s anxiety was nearly palpable. However, Ellie wasn’t sure if her nerves came from being in the car with Elijah, or Klaus being here.

Mrs. Lockwood opened the door, clearly ready to go somewhere. “Elijah!” She said in surprise. “Ellie, Elena, what are you doing here? What happened?”

“I’ve had a bit of an incident, Carol. I’m hoping you could help.” Elijah told her.

“Well, I’m on my way to a meeting, so I…” Mrs. Lockwood started.

Elijah stepped forward as he said, “I won’t take but a minute of your time.”

There was a moment of tense silence, before Mrs. Lockwood smiled warmly at him and said, “Of course, anything you need.”

“Thank you.” Elijah said as they walked in. “Well, first things first. I’m going to need a change of clothing.”

“Well, we can try one of my husband’s suits. I haven’t boxed them up yet.” Mrs. Lockwood told him.

Ellie gave Mrs. Lockwood’s hand a comforting squeeze as he replied, “Wonderful.”

She went to pick out a suit as Elena asked, “How did you know she’s not on vervain?”

“Cause I’m the one who got her off it.” Elijah told her bluntly. “Right before you and your friends killed me. Twice. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be down in a moment.” He started to walk away, before he turned to Ellie. “Eleanor, don’t you think some tea is in order?”

“I do. Meet us in the kitchen once you’ve gotten cleaned up.” Ellie told him. As he walked up the stairs, Elena followed Ellie into the kitchen. She pulled out the chamomile tea as she set the kettle on to boil. Thankfully, Mrs. Lockwood was also fond of the tea, meaning there was always a supply around.

“Eleanor?” Elena asked in confusion. Ellie just shrugged. It was what he called her and she didn’t mind.

“Do you want tea?” Ellie asked. “Actually no you’re drinking tea whether you want it or not. You’re way too anxious right now and it’s driving me nuts.” Elena opened her mouth but Ellie shot back. “Don’t argue with me, you’ll like it.” When the tea was ready, she poured it into their cups and proceeded to pass a cup to Elena. “Tea’s ready.” Ellie said as Elijah walked in. 

“Thank you.” He said as he took the cup from her. As the front door closed, she assumed that meant that Mrs. Lockwood had made an exit. He led the two of them into one of the parlors and he and Ellie sat on one of the couches as Elena took a chair. Elijah went ahead and dove straight into things. “So I assume that the Martin witches are no longer with us.”

“No.” Elena said as she looked over at the two of them. “I’m sorry.”

“And Katerina?” Elijah inquired. “She would have been released from my compulsion when I died.”

“Klaus took her.” Ellie told him. “I tried to find her, but he must have a witch cloaking her.”

Elena looked surprised. “We think that she may be dead.”

“I doubt that.” Elijah said as he took a sip of his tea. “Not Klaus’ style. Death would be too easy for her after what she did.”

The image of Katherine being tortured appeared in Ellie’s mind and it made her chest tighten with worry. “I don’t understand.” Elena said. “You say that you want Klaus dead, but you still made Katherine pay for betraying him.”

“I have my own reasons for wanting Katerina to pay.” Elijah said and Ellie looked over to him in surprise. For the most part, Ellie and Katherine had avoided talking about Elijah. So she didn’t really know much about their history together. “There was a time… I’d have done anything for Klaus.” He explained how he and Klaus met Katherine, and Elena looked shocked. “Yes, Klaus is my brother.” It was pleasing to realize that for once she knew something before Elena did.

“I heard that. I’m still processing.” Elena told him.

“Yes, I’m a little behind on the times, but I believe the term you’re searching for is OMG.” He said as he took a sip of her tea. Ellie couldn’t help but snort in amusement. She could see him hide his grin behind his cup. After Elena had processed what he’d said, he added, “Our family is the origin of all vampires.”

“There’s a whole family of vampires?” Elena asked him as he rose and walked over to a mirror.

“My father was a wealthy landowner in a village in eastern Europe. Our mother bore seven children.” Elijah explained.

“So your parents were human?” Elena asked as she also stood.

“Our whole family was.” Elijah corrected. “Our origin as vampires is a very long story, Elena. Just know, we’re the oldest vampires in the world. We are the Original Family, and from us, all vampires were created.”

“Right but Klaus is your  _ brother _ .” Elena said, still stuck on it. “And you want him dead?”

Ellie winced slightly. She knew it was a sensitive subject for him to talk about. Surely Elena realized it too when he ignored the question, instead saying, “I need some air. I’m still feeling a tad…” He made a face as he searched for the right word. “Dead. Come.” He offered Ellie his arm and she took it without hesitation. If she were honest, she thought he was doing it in part to get under Elena’s skin. When she asked, he replied, “Well, she did kill me. I can’t be helped if I’m feeling slightly petty.”

She laughed quietly at his confession. “I’m glad you’re back.” Ellie told him honestly.

“Good to be back.” Elijah replied. He chose not to ask what was bothering her as Elena closed the distance between them and her. “So you’ve seen, nothing can kill an Original. Not sun, not fire, not even a werewolf bite. Only the wood from one tree; a tree my family made sure burned.”

“That’s where the white ash for the dagger comes from.” Elena said.

“Yes. The witches won’t allow anything truly immortal to walk the earth. Every creature needs to have a weakness in order to maintain the balance.” Elijah explained and Ellie nodded in agreement. From what she’d read, maintaining the balance was crucial. 

“So, if the sun can’t kill an Original, why is Klaus so obsessed with breaking the sun and moon curse?” Elena asked. It was something Ellie had also been curious of, but she’d never really bothered to ask.

“Right.” Elijah smiled. “The Curse of The Sun and The Moon. It’s all so… biblical sounding, don’t you think?” He asked as they stopped at a bridge. Suddenly, Ellie felt like there was something big that he hadn’t told her.

“What’s so funny?” Elena asked. Elijah explained how they’d had servants bring them information on the curse and revealed that Klaus had made them sometime prior. “I don’t understand. So Klaus drew the Aztec sketches about the curse?”

“Roman scrolls, African tribal etchings, and any other culture or continent we felt like planting it in.” Elijah said.

Ellie’s eyes went wide in understanding. “But why?”

“Easiest way to discover the existence of a doppelgänger or to get your hands on some long, lost moonstone is to have every single member of two warring species on the lookout for it.” Elijah explained, his amusement written all over his face.

“So it’s not Aztec at all?” Elena questioned.

Ellie didn’t understand why it hadn’t clicked for Elena yet. “Elena, the sun and moon curse is fake. It’s not real at all.” Ellie told her and Elijah grinned as he crossed the bridge.

“What?” Elena asked. They both took off after him.

“If it’s fake then what the hell does he need us for?” Ellie asked as she fell into step with him.

“Klaus and I faked the sun and moon curse dating back over a thousand years.” Elijah told them.

“But if there’s no curse…”

Elijah cut Elena off. “There’s a curse. Just not that one.” He said. “The real one’s much worse. It’s a curse placed on Klaus.”

“What are you talking about?” Ellie questioned. Why had he not told her?

“Klaus has been trying to break it for the last thousand years. And the two of you were his only hope.” Elijah told them.

“What is this curse?” Elena asked.

“Your phone will not stop its incessant buzzing. Answer it, please.” Elijah said as he handed it over.

“Stefan-” She started but stopped abruptly. “What’s wrong?” Both Ellie and Elijah stepped closer to her. “No. No, no, no, no. Ok, I’ll be right there.”

“Elena what happened?” Ellie asked worriedly.

“Klaus went after Jenna. I have to go to her.” Elena said.

“I’m afraid that wasn’t part of today’s arrangement.” Elijah informed her.

Ellie grabbed his forearm. “But protecting Jenna was part of our agreement. Let Elena go, she’ll come back and I’ll stay. She’s our family Elijah.”

“I’ll be back.” Elena promised. “You have my word.”

“That doesn’t mean anything to me.” Elijah told her.

“You also have mine.” Ellie added. “This is too important for her to break her word.”

He gave her a look and nodded slightly. “Until you live up to it.”

“Thank you.” Elena said gratefully.

“Go Elena, hurry.” Ellie insisted and Elena took off running towards her car. As Elena ran, Ellie pulled out her phone and cursed under her breath when she realized it was dead. If Stefan knew that Klaus had gone after Jenna, that must have meant that she called him when she couldn’t reach her. “You know the funny thing is, they have no idea that Jenna knows. I never told them.”

Elijah snapped out of the memory he was lost in when she spoke. “And why is that?” He asked.

“Just never came up. But then again it never crossed Elena’s mind to tell me that our mom was alive.” Ellie said bitterly.

“Your mother is alive? Your biological mother I presume.”

Her jaw tensed. “She was. Klaus compelled her to kill herself, which she happened to do so in front of Elena and I.” Ellie said as she looked away from him.

He hadn’t seen that coming. She looked incredibly distraught, but he wasn’t sure that her mother’s death was all that was bothering her. “I’m incredibly sorry for your loss.” He told her sincerely. “Do you want to talk about what has you so upset?”

Ellie looked over at him before cursing herself for being an open book. “I’m tired of people I care about dying, Elijah.” She said sadly. “I watched Dr. Martin die.” She hesitated as she tried to keep her emotions in check. “After Luka was killed, he went into a rage. Said the only way to get his daughter back was you and that he needed Elena and I to do it. Katherine swapped places with Elena and came home with Stefan and I. He tried to catch her by surprise in the bathroom and she fed on him. But they didn’t realize he wasn’t dead. He gave Bonnie her magic back right before Stefan snapped his neck.”

She looked defeated. “I’m sorry you had to witness that.” 

“And then, he took over Alaric’s body and decided Bonnie was a threat and tried to kill her yesterday at the dance. I thought that I watched her die.” Ellie choked as her eyes watered. “If Damon hadn’t come up with the plan to fake her death, Bonnie would have really died last night.” 

Now he understood why she looked so unlike herself. It was a lot of trauma to go through in a short amount of time. “Faked her death?” He asked curiously as they made their way back into the house.

“Klaus knew that she was a threat, and the only way to get rid of her as a threat was to kill her so that he wasn’t at risk of dying. He wouldn’t have stopped coming after her until he knew she was gone. Damon didn’t tell us because our reaction was what would make or break whether he believed it or not.” Ellie explained. “I can’t let anyone else die, Elijah. I can’t handle it.”

“I understand.” He said as he led her to the couch to sit down.

When he sat down next to her, she told him, “I’m really sorry I didn’t find you sooner. Every time I asked they would refuse, and none of my locator spells got an exact location. When I finally realized that you had to be close to the boarding house, I just didn’t get the chance to get to you without being caught. I knew the first time that I tried to get you, if I were caught they’d move you and I wouldn’t get another chance.”

He took a hold of her forearm, catching her attention. “It’s alright, you did what you could.” He assured her.

“I knew I couldn’t wait any longer after last night, so as soon as everyone was distracted, I went and undaggered you. I wouldn’t even let Elena get close to getting her hands on it.” Ellie told him.

“I appreciate your caution.” Elijah said. He rose and poured them both a drink and she watched as he handed one to her. “Drink. You’ll feel better.” She did as she was told and he watched her sigh a little at the burn. He regretted not being there. He’d promised to keep her safe but instead he got daggered and the people around her started dying. Her fear was written all over her face. “You need to eat.” He said as he glanced at the clock on the wall. “You’ll feel better.”

She shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”

Elijah held a hand out to her. “Yes, you are.” He said knowingly. “Come on.” 

Ellie allowed him to pull her into the kitchen and she watched with curiosity as he took a second to look around the kitchen, before he started pulling out things to make pasta. “You cook?” She asked with interest.

He couldn’t help but laugh. “I do enjoy regular meals, Eleanor.” He told her. “Plus, it’s a good way to pass time. You do like pasta, correct?”

“Of course I like pasta.” She replied.

“Do you like to cook?” He asked.

She couldn’t help but grin a little. “I’m the only one in our house that can cook. But yes, I like it.”

“Would you like to help me?” He offered. It would help get her mind off of everything she was worrying about. She looked uncertain, but after a moment, she caved and moved to go to him.

* * *

Elena had been gone for a while. It had been long enough for Ellie and Elijah to eat together as well as clean up before they eventually moved back into the parlor that they’d been in before. It was nice to just have a breather, without worrying about Klaus. It wasn’t hard for her to admit that she felt much safer now that Elijah was back. “Your sister does intend to come back, correct?” He asked her as he watched out the window.

“Yes. she just had no clue that Jenna knew anything. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was what finally set Jenna off back into the anger she had over not being told anything. If I had to guess, she probably tried to call me because I’d left a message saying to stay away from Alaric and to call me when she got my message so I could explain. She probably didn’t see it until after my phone had already died.” Ellie told him.

“All this time and they still don’t know?” He asked curiously as he turned to face her.

“After we found out about Isobel, Jenna didn’t really want to be anywhere near Elena, she was too hurt. So it hasn’t really come up.” Ellie shrugged.

“Then this ought to go well.” He said sarcastically and Ellie snorted. She hadn’t realized how much she'd missed his sharp remarks until she got to spend time with him again.

“I think it’s time that we go over the plan with her. I mentioned the potion thingy, but I didn’t really go into a lot of detail about it. I only told them that there was a potion you had and I’d been looking into other resurrection spells.”

He gave her a curious look. “That’s all you told them? Why?”

“Typically we talked things through before I told anyone anything, except with Tyler because it was an accident. I didn’t know how much you’d be ok with me telling her. Plus, even though I mentioned it, if you hadn’t gotten undaggered, I would have had no idea where it was.” Ellie explained.

It was fascinating, he had to admit, that she’d remained loyal even when he was daggered. That she’d kept her word to him even when he’d have no clue if she broke it. It was very… honorable of her. “I agree. Now that Klaus has arrived, we need to work together with them. We no longer have the time to argue. We’ll make sure she knows everything when she gets back.” It wasn’t long that they’d stood together before the sound of a car pulled up. The door slammed as Elena entered. “Welcome back.” Elijah said as Elena gave Ellie a look.

“What?” Ellie asked as she raised her eyebrows at Elena’s expression.

“What do you mean what?” Elena snapped. “You  _ told  _ her?” Elena asked. “Ellie how could you tell her and not tell me?”

“Pot calling the kettle black much Elena?” Ellie scoffed. “Did you actually expect me to leave her in the dark when there’s a chance people might die? When people have  _ already _ died? Or have you already forgotten about Vicki or Miss Sheila or Lexi? Or Isobel or Luka and Dr. Martin? Or Anna and Mason? People have been dying around us because of certain decisions people have made. How was I supposed to leave her in the dark when so much was happening? She deserved the truth!”

“That wasn’t your decision to make.” Elena shot back.

“It wasn’t yours either! God Elena! You have stood there and lied to our faces so many times without hesitation and you don’t even seem to realize how messed up that is! When you found out that someone was out there that wanted to kill us for being doppelgängers you should have told me. My life was in danger Elena! We got taken by Rose and Trevor for it and if it had been Klaus that we were given to we would both probably be dead by now. Hell I could have died in the car crash when Bonnie didn’t undo that stupid spell!” Ellie felt her magic scratching just under the surface.

“That’s not fair! I was just trying to do the right thing!” Elena argued.

“Have you ever, for one  _ second _ , considered that you don’t know as much as you think you do? That you’re not always right? Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, even Alaric, they  _ all _ thought that I should have been told about what was happening sooner. Do you know why they kept their mouths shut? You! You kept insisting that it was smarter to not tell me yet, if ever. Alaric and Jenna’s relationship has gotten messed up because you thought she shouldn’t know! Because she’s our aunt and he wanted to respect your decision but he’s the adult Elena! Not you!” Ellie yelled. “You never even told me anything! Everything I learned was from Elijah and your diary.”

“Which you had no right to read!” Elena said angrily.

Ellie let out a small screech of frustration as she tried to keep her magic in check. The last thing she needed to do was to cause property damage to the Lockwood’s house. “We got  _ kidnapped, _ Elena! And even then you told me nothing! Even when I came home pretending to be compelled you just let it slide, you didn’t even question how I got compelled because you were so desperate to keep me in the dark over something that could have gotten me killed. Do you have any idea how that made me feel? Elena do you even realize that I don’t trust you anymore?”

Elena recoiled like she’d been slapped. “What? Ellie no that’s not fair.”

“You left me!” Ellie was nearly screaming and the fire soared higher than it should have as all the candles in the room shot to life. “When Stefan and Damon came you left me behind! You knew I was there! How long did it take for you to realize what you’d done? Do you know how scared I was? Because as far as I knew I was in the middle of nowhere with no phone and two dead vampires! And with every lie you’ve told me, every time you looked me dead in the eye and lied like it was nothing, just dug that knife deeper. Because you act like you’ve done nothing wrong! You stood there and told me there was nothing else you were keeping from me, and then Isobel strolls back in and took me and Jenna so far by surprise we didn’t even know what to do. Do you have any idea how far that hurt had to go for us to be to a point where we couldn’t even stand to be in the same house as you? Do you know how devastated Jenna was?”

“Ellie…”

“No, don’t Ellie me, Elena! Do you have any idea how angry she was when she found that Damon murdered Jeremy? He  _ murdered _ him! Just because he could and just because he felt like it! And you kept bringing him into our home! You kept him in our lives! After what he did to Caroline? After what he did to Bonnie and her grams? After the countless people he’s hurt and you still let him inside our home? He killed Mason! He was Jenna’s friend, my friend! And what? Damon killed him because he was jealous of whatever Mason was doing with Katherine? I tolerate him right now because he’d do anything to keep you alive but what’s really sad is that right now, Elena, I trust him more than I trust you. At least he’s honest about not being a good person.” Ellie hissed.

When the flames jumped dangerously high, almost close enough to catch fire to the curtains, Elijah intervened, taking a firm hold of Ellie’s forearm. “Breathe.” He told her quietly. “Come with me.” He insisted. She rolled her shoulders back as she relaxed somewhat in his grip. “I think we should take a moment.” He said it louder, so that Elena could hear.

Without another word, he led Ellie back towards the kitchen and left Elena in the parlor. He could feel the witch shaking in his hold and every candle they passed shot to life in response to the magic that was radiating off of her. When they were alone, he let go of her arm and she took to pacing. “I’m sorry.” She told him suddenly as she faced him. 

“What for?” He asked.

“I lost my temper and I was trying so hard to keep my magic in check but it’s just been building for so long and I- we have more important stuff to deal with. We don’t have time for me throwing temper tantrums.” She sounded exhausted, though it wasn’t surprising. Being that upset and keeping her magic in line wasn’t an easy thing to do. He could remember back when they were human, there had been times when even Kol had struggled with such a feat. And even then, he’d never seen Kol as upset as Ellie currently was.

“It wasn’t a temper tantrum.” Elijah assured her as he started to make tea. He knew it would help. “That was you at a breaking point, and handling it spectacularly well in my opinion. I’ve seen temper tantrums, Eleanor. Klaus has thrown  _ several _ over the years.”

She was shaking again as he turned to face her. “I’ve been trying so hard to stay civil, Elijah. At least until this was over. Because if, if something happens and one of us dies and stays dead, I didn’t want our last moments to be angry ones. And I’m scared. I’m so scared that she’s gonna die and it’s gonna be my fault because no matter how mad I am at her or how little I trust her, she’s my sister and I’m supposed to look out for her and I don’t want to fail my parents and I just don’t know what to-”

Ellie cut off abruptly as Elijah stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. The words died in her throat as the smell of his cologne filled her senses. It was only a split second before she was hugging him tightly, like a lifeline. He knew that he was, at least to some degree. He’d promised to do everything to keep them alive, and when he’d been gone, she was faced with the real threat that he wouldn’t be able to protect them.

It wasn’t his usual method of helping his allies. He’d certainly never hugged the Martins. But he understood what was going through her head. That conflict of anger and betrayal over the clearly fierce loyalty she still had for Elena, whether the other girl deserved it or not. She was a good person, and she was scared to death that she might lose yet someone else she cared about. He hadn’t realized her list of losses was as long as it was, and it explained a lot about why she was struggling the way that she was. “It’s going to be alright.” Elijah promised.

As the kettle began to whistle, she pulled away. “You can’t promise that for certain, but I do feel better that you’re here.” She told him and stepped back as he finished making the tea both for her and for himself.

Once she’d finished her cup, and her breathing had calmed, he asked, “Are you ready to go back in there?”

“I think so.” She said as she stood. “And thank you, honestly, for doing all of this. I think something would have exploded had she and I not been separated.”

He gave her a small smile as he replied, “Well, wouldn’t want that now would we?” She put out the candles as they passed and when they stepped into the parlor, Elena still looked to be a bit in shock. “Now, shall we get back to our discussion from before you had to leave?”

Elena nodded softly. “Tell me.” Elijah made sure that he and Ellie sat on the sofa together, leaving Elena to the chair. “What is Klaus’ curse?”

“My family was quite close, but Klaus and my father did not get on too well. When we became vampires, we discovered the truth. Klaus was not my father’s son.” Ellie’s eyes went wide at the revelation. It was helpful in distracting her from her own emotions. “My mother had been unfaithful many years before. This was her darkest secret. Klaus is from a different bloodline. Of course, when my father discovered this, he hunted down and killed my mother’s lover and his entire family. Not realizing, of course, that he was igniting a war between species that rages until this day.”

Elijah had stood, walking over to the fireplace, as Ellie understood the implication of what he was saying. “A war between the species?” Elena asked in confusion and Ellie swallowed the annoyance she felt.

“The vampires… and the werewolves.” 

Ellie watched Elena process the information from the corner of her eye. “So Klaus’ real father was from a werewolf bloodline? What does that make Klaus? A werewolf? Or a vampire?”

“He’s both.” Ellie said, almost more to herself than to them. She spotted Elijah nod in confirmation.

“A hybrid would be deadlier than any werewolf or vampire. Nature would not stand for such an imbalance of power. Therefore the witches, the servants of nature, saw to it that my brother’s werewolf side would become dormant.” Elijah said.

“That’s the curse that Klaus wants to break?”

“He wants to trigger that part of him that’s a werewolf. If allowed, Klaus would sire his own bloodline. He’d build his own race. Endangering not just vampires, but everyone.” Elijah told them.

“But you helped him.” Elena said and Ellie wasn’t sure if that was an accusation in her voice or not.

“I helped him because I loved him.” Elijah told her. “That’s changed, now he must die.”

Elena stepped towards him. “We have the dagger now. We can stop him.”

Ellie scoffed as she rose from her seat. “Don’t you think if it was that simple, that Elijah would have done it by now? If that was all it took, he wouldn’t have needed us.”

“When a werewolf is wounded by silver, it heals. An Original can’t be killed by anything but white oak ash on a silver dagger. So you see the conundrum. The dagger does not work.” Elijah explained.

“What, are you saying that Klaus can’t be killed?” Elena asked.

“There’s one way to kill any supernatural species… at the hands of the servants of nature themselves.”

“A witch.” Elena said in understanding. “If they can channel that much power. But it would kill them.”

“The curse must be broken during the full moon. When Klaus is in transition. That’s when he’ll be at his most vulnerable. A witch with enough power  _ can  _ kill Klaus.”

“What if I told you that I knew a witch that could channel that much power?” Elena asked.

“Then I would tell you there’s one more thing you should know.” Elijah replied. “Back when Katerina was human, the witches found a way to save her, to bring her back after the sacrifice. A potion for her to ingest before the ritual that would resurrect her.”

Elena looked between the two of them in shock. “You actually found a way to save the life of the doppelgänger? Ellie mentioned it, but I don’t think I really believed it.”

“Yes, Elena. I did.” Elijah told her.

“I told you I would never let this happen without a plan to keep us both alive.” Ellie reminded her.

“But unfortunately, Katerina took matters into her own hands first. I believe you already know how that played out.” Elijah said as he offered both the girls their jackets.

“You cared about her, didn’t you?” Elena asked softly.

“It’s a common mistake, I’m told. It’s one I don’t intend to make again.” Elijah said. Ellie wondered if what he’d felt for Katherine had been more than just a friend. Probably so. She tried to not think about why it bothered her. She’d yet to tell anyone that she and Katherine had become friends, with the blowout she’d just had with Elena, now probably wasn’t the best time. She followed him out to Elena’s car and took the keys from her sister. It was petty, but she felt a touch satisfied when Elijah had opened the door for her, but not Elena. Maybe it was just because Elena was much farther behind them. “I think it’s time we return to the boarding house.”

Ellie nodded and they drove in silence. When they arrived, Ellie stood with Elijah on the outside of the house. “So our deal is back on?” Elena asked.

Elijah and Ellie shared a look and when Ellie nodded, he confirmed. “Yes.”

“Then, Elijah, please come in.” Elena said. As they entered, Ellie picked up on the sounds of a fight. “Stop!”

There was a heavy moment as silence filled the room. “Now you’ve invited him in?” Damon asked in disbelief.

“Elijah and I have renewed the terms of our deal.” Elena explained.

“Really?” He asked sarcastically.

“The two of you will come to no harm at my hands.” Elijah informed them. He stepped forward, and Ellie moved to follow on instinct. He said no harm would come to them from  _ his _ hands, but if Damon tried something stupid, she was under no obligation to not snap his neck. “I only ask for one thing in return.”

“What?” Damon asked suspiciously.

“An apology.”

“A what?” Damon made a face.

The brothers shared a look before Stefan sighed and walked towards Elijah. “I’m sorry for the part that I played in your death. I was protecting Elena. I will always protect Elena.” Stefan apologized. It didn’t surprise her, he was typically better at swallowing his pride.

“I understand.” Elijah replied.

Damon was still standing where he had been, scowling. “Sacrifice is going to happen, Damon. Bonnie will be able to kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save mine and Ellie’s lives. I told you I’d find another way. And I did.”

“Is that true?” Damon asked.

“It is.” Elijah confirmed.

“And you’re trusting him?” 

“I am.” Elena replied.

“You can all go to hell.” Damon said bluntly before walking off.

Stefan turned back to them and said, “He’s angry with me right now. But he’ll come around.”

“Perhaps.” Elijah said. Ellie wasn’t sure he’d come around either. But she didn’t have the energy to deal with that tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for running a little late, my computer was acting up. Please leave a comment and let me know what you guys thought about this chapter!
> 
> Posted: 10/31/20


	39. The Last Day

**Chapter 39: The Last Day**

_ April 28, 2010 _

After it was time for Elijah and Ellie to leave the boarding house, Ellie had been reluctant to reveal that she’d been staying in his apartment. To her immense relief, he hadn’t been upset that she’d taken up residence in his guest bedroom. Though she was sure he could hear her frantic heartbeat for the rest of the night. But she also couldn’t help but admit that she’d felt much safer with him there. At least if Klaus somehow managed to find her there, she had an Original to protect her.

She’d also very much enjoyed waking up making breakfast with Elijah. She’d never done stuff like that with someone that wasn’t her family or one of her best friends. Once they’d both gotten ready, he’d driven them over to the boarding house. Stefan was the one to open the door, looking relieved that they were there. “Hey, come in.” He said as he stepped out of the way. As they stepped inside, Stefan reached out to Ellie. “Is everything ok?” He asked softly. “Elena told me about what happened.”

Ellie sighed. “It’s complicated, but we don’t have time for that.” She replied. “We should call Jenna. The full moon is tonight and we need everybody ready.”

“Yeah, that’s smart. Do you want me to call her?” Stefan asked.

“No, I can do it.” Ellie informed him. 

The phone only rang a few times before Jenna answered.  _ “Hello?” _

“Hey, Jen. I am  _ so _ sorry that I didn’t answer your calls yesterday, my phone had died right before you tried to call.” Ellie apologized. “But I just got over to the boarding house. It’s a full moon tonight and we have to be ready for Klaus.”

There was a pregnant pause before Jenna released a shaky breath.  _ “I’ll be there soon. I just have to finish up what I was eating.” _

“Ok, love you. I’ll see you soon.” Ellie replied.

_ “Love you too.”  _ Jenna told her before hanging up.

“Jenna’s gonna be on the way soon.” Ellie said as she stepped into the room. If she intentionally avoided eye contact with Elena, well who could blame her? Elena was sitting on the couch, so Ellie took her spot in the chair next to where Elijah was standing. Anxiety was bubbling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn’t a nice feeling.

“We should go over the plan.” Stefan suggested.

Elijah nodded and said. “Tonight is the full moon. We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse.”

“Elena said that the sun and the moon curse is fake.” Stefan said. “That it’s actually just a curse placed on Klaus.”

“Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline. The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But if he breaks it, he’ll be a true hybrid.” Elijah explained.

“Then why are we letting him break the curse?” Damon asked as he strolled into the room. “We can kill him today. With Bonnie.”

“Damon.” Stefan said as he held out a hand, trying to get Damon to stop talking.

“No. Bonnie can’t use that much power without dying.” Elena reminded him.

“I’ll write her a great eulogy.” Damon popped off. Elijah shot Ellie a look when the fire flickered a little higher in response to her magic. She was on edge, and her magic acted accordingly.

“It’s not an option, Damon.” Elena insisted.

Stefan interrupted before they could continue going back and forth and asked, “Alright, how do we break this curse?”

“Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward. The ingredients, so to speak, you already know.” Elijah said as he walked towards the fireplace.

“The moonstone.” Stefan said.

“A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that’s bound within the stone. After that, Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each.” Elijah explained.

“And where do we fit into it?” Elena asked.

Elijah turned to face her. “By now, Klaus is aware of Eleanor’s status as a witch. Given that we’ve never come across such a thing, he will most likely find her interesting enough that he’ll want to keep her alive. So we have to be prepared for him going after you for the sacrifice.”

Damon huffed. “I had made a comment to Alari-Klaus about Bonnie and Ellie working together. He knows she’s a witch.”

She was certain that he was wishing that he hadn’t. She’d expect nothing less than him wanting it to be her that got sacrificed as opposed to Elena. “In that case, that leaves you, Elena, as the final part of the ritual. Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelgänger to the point of your death.”

Stefan reached out and took Elena’s hand. Ellie could see the stress of the situation finally starting to get to him. “And that’s where you come in.” Elena supplied.

Ellie watched as Elijah flipped open a fancy looking box. “This is an elixir that I acquired some five hundred years ago for Katerina. It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation.”

“So I’ll be dead?”

“And then you won’t.” Elijah told her.

“That’s your plan?” Damon scoffed. “A magical witch potion with no expiration date? You know, you want to come back to life, what about John’s ring?”

“Those rings only work on humans. The doppelgänger’s a supernatural occurrence. Odds are, the ring won’t work.” Elijah informed him.

“Well, I’ll take those odds over your elixir.” Damon said sarcastically. “What if it doesn’t work, Elena?”

“Then I guess I’ll just be dead.” Elena said bluntly. Ellie winced. Despite her anger, the thought of Elena dying still left a sick feeling in her stomach.

Damon made a sound that cut off as he looked over to Stefan as if for help. “To be fair, you wear a magical witch ring that seems to not have any expiration date. There’s no reason to believe that the elixir would expire.” Ellie reminded him. He glared at her before walking off.

“Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this?” Elena asked. “Does he have a werewolf?”

“Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years. If he doesn’t already have a werewolf, my guess is by tonight, he will.” Elijah told her. With that, they seemed to be done with their meeting, if you could call it that.

When the doorbell rang, Ellie rose in response. “I’ll get it.” Ellie assured them. “It’s probably just Jenna.” Once the door was opened, her assumption was proved correct. “Hey, Jen. Come on in.” Ellie told her as she stepped aside. “I’ll fill you in on everything we just went through as a group."

“Yeah, ok.” Jenna said in agreement as she followed Ellie into another room. Once Ellie had finished explaining, Jenna knew her niece well enough to know that something was bothering her. “What’s wrong?”

Ellie couldn’t help but scowl. Sometimes Jenna was a bit too observant. “I got into it with Elena.”

“And by getting into it you mean…”

“I mean I lost my temper and yelled at her and got so upset I nearly set the curtains on fire.” Ellie huffed. “She just had such an attitude and I couldn’t help myself.”

“So what’s getting at you?” Jenna questioned as she sat down on the couch next to her niece.

“I have to remember that there’s a chance that the elixir Elijah has won’t work. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t, but there’s always a possibility. I didn’t want what could be our last moments to be a fight.” She felt like she’d gone over this so many times, but now that she had less than twenty four hours, the fear was creeping in. “But at the same time, I’m so angry that I can’t help it.”

Jenna wrapped a comforting arm around Ellie’s shoulders. “Whatever happens, no matter how angry you are, I don’t think Elena would ever doubt that you love her. Do you doubt that she loves you?”

“No. She’s just an idiot sometimes.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at the way Ellie was nearly pouting. “See, then that should tell you that she knows you love her. Give it time, maybe she’ll come around and properly apologize.”

“If we have time.” Ellie reminded her.

“You’ve gotta have faith.” Jenna insisted. “Now, come on, I need a drink. My nerves are killing me.”

Ellie seemed to remember something and she pulled Jenna to her feet. “That reminds me. I thought you might feel better if you had a bit of protection.” Ellie said.

The last thing Jenna had expected was for her niece to pass her a crossbow. “What am I supposed to do with this?” Jenna asked as she took it.

“Channel your inner Buffy, Jen. All you have to do is load, aim, and shoot.” Ellie said as she passed over a small thing of arrows. “It’s from Ric’s collection. I guess he must have left it here at some point.” It was Jenna’s turn to look upset as she observed the crossbow more closely. “I know you’re worried about him, but I think he’s gonna be ok.”

“How can you be sure?” Jenna asked worriedly.

“He needed Ric to spy on us, Elijah hasn’t mentioned anything about Klaus normally killing the people he body jumps into. It would be way too suspicious if there were people constantly dropping dead when he was done with them.” Ellie assured her. “Look, why don’t you go get a drink to try and relax. Do us both and get something ridiculously expensive. It’s the least Damon could do.”

Jenna grinned slightly and nodded before they exited the room. While Jenna went in search of alcohol, Ellie made her way back into the room that she’d been in before. Elena and Elijah were both still in there, talking. “I don’t want to mislead you.” Elijah was saying. Since Elena was holding the elixir, it wasn’t hard to assume that he was warning her it might not work.

“I know the chance I’m taking.” Elena assured him.

A door slammed and Ellie jolted in surprise. “Get out.” Jenna said loudly. 

The three of them turned as they heard Alaric’s voice. “Jenna, Jenna!”

“Get out!” She repeated.

The twins quickly headed to the front door where the commotion was coming from. “Jenna, put the crossbow down, ok? It’s me.” Alaric insisted.

“Stay behind me.” Stefan told them as the three of them walked towards Jenna and Alaric.

“Stay away from me.” Jenna said as she kept the crossbow held up and ready to fire.

“What’s going on?” Ellie asked as she stepped in front of Elena.

“It’s me, Ellie. I swear, ok?” Alaric told her. “He let me go. Klaus let me go.”

Damon had arrived and was eyeing Alaric suspiciously. “Prove it.” He demanded. It was clear that the majority of them were ready to attack if it was Klaus still pretending to be Alaric.

Alaric turned to look at Jenna. “Ok, uh, first night you and I spent together, Jeremy walked in right when I was about to-”

“Ok! It’s him.” Jenna said quickly, cutting off whatever he was about to say. Everyone else’s eyebrows rose in curiosity as Jenna and Alaric shared a look.

“Why’d he let you go?” Stefan asked.

Jenna seemed grateful at the change of topic. Ellie would have to ask her about that later. “He wanted me to deliver a message.” Alaric told them. “The sacrifice happens tonight.”

“Did he say who he planned to use?” Ellie asked nervously.

Alaric looked defeated as he admitted. “He talked about making sure that Elena didn’t run.”

It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but it was what she expected. “I think we should talk.” Stefan said and everyone filed back into the living room, if that was what you were supposed to call it. Jenna and Elena sat next to each other on the couch. Elijah took to propping against the back of the high backed chair Ellie sat in. Damon walked off as Alaric took the couch opposite Jenna and Elena. And Stefan promptly began to pace. After Alaric filled them in on what he knew, Stefan asked,“So you don’t remember anything that happened?”

Alaric shook his head and said, “No. It’s like I blacked out and woke up three days later.” After that sunk in, he added, “Katherine was there.”

“She’s under compulsion. Damon snuck her some vervain, but she can’t leave until Klaus tells her she can.” Stefan explained. Ellie felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest as she relaxed into the chair. She’d been so worried about the vampire. At the very least, Katherine was alive and didn’t seem to be in too bad of a shape if they hadn’t felt the need to mention it.

“Where is Damon?” Elena asked curiously.

“I saw him go upstairs.” Jenna supplied. 

Elena rose to go to Damon as Alaric asked, “So what else did I do?”

“Technically  _ you _ didn’t do anything. You weren’t exactly in the driver’s seat.” Ellie reminded him.

Alaric gave her a look. “Thanks for trying to be comforting, but really, what happened?”

Ellie looked up at Elijah before looking over at Stefan. “Maybe we should let the two of you talk about it?” Ellie suggested. It wasn’t something she really wanted to explain.

Thankfully, both Elijah and Stefan nodded and the three of them walked from the room. “Jenna, what the hell happened?”

The three of them stood in the front hallway for an awkward moment, before both Elijah and Stefan tilted their heads to the side like they were listening intently to something. Suddenly Stefan looked panicked and disappeared. “Elijah, what just happened? What’s going on?” Ellie asked.

“I believe Damon just forced your sister to drink vampire blood.” He said, sounding somewhat surprised.

“No!” Ellie turned on her heel and ran up the stairs. She didn’t think she’d even run this fast at the dance when Klaus was after Bonnie.

She could hear Elena and ran faster as the sound of glass shattered. “Damon, no!” Elena yelled as Ellie slid to a stop in the doorway.

Damon had shoved a broken piece of wood into Stefan’s stomach, lifting him off the ground. “What did you do?” Ellie yelled as she saw the blood covering her sister’s mouth.

“I don’t want to hear it, Sabrina.” Damon hissed. 

Her magic flung him into the wall with ease. And she did not deny the satisfaction she felt listening to him scream in pain. “You had no right!” Ellie shouted over his cries of pain. “How could you do that to her?” He was all fangs and blood red eyes as he tried to fight against the magic pinning him in place and the magic bursting every blood vessel in his brain. “You will  _ never _ do that to her again do you understand?” She’d stopped yelling. Instead her voice was like ice. She stopped the magic that was exploding the vessels in his brain, but she did not release him. “If you ever,  _ ever _ put your hands on Elena again or if you hurt someone I care about again, by the time I’m done with you, you’re gonna wish I’d just killed you instead.”

Ellie’s voice was low and full of threat. For the first time since Stefan had met her, all he could see in the witch before him was Katherine. Even though she hadn’t been a witch that long, Stefan knew, even despite the pain that he felt, that Ellie would absolutely keep her word. When it became clear that Damon wasn’t going to respond, Ellie snapped his neck with her magic like it was nothing. “Ellie!” Elena yelped in surprise as Damon’s body fell unceremoniously to the ground.

“What the hell is going on?” Alaric asked as he and Jenna came running into the room.

“Oh my god.” Jenna said as she took in the scene before her.

“I should kill him.” Ellie said coldly. If she wanted to, with that rage that was all but pouring out of her, Stefan was certain she could pretend to be Katherine and everyone would believe it. It was honestly terrifying in his opinion. “After everything he’s done, he deserves it.” Elena looked shocked at her sister’s confession. “This is the only warning he gets. Next time will be so much worse than a headache and a snapped neck.” Stefan nodded in understanding. “Elena, move back, I can use my magic to get the wood out.”

“Ok, Jenna, downstairs in the basement are some blood bags. Go get them, now. Go!” Alaric insisted and Jenna took off running to get them.

Ellie removed the wood with a flick of her hand, and Stefan let out a pained shout as he clutched the wound and collapsed. “It’s ok. It’s ok. You’re going to be ok.” Elena assured him.

“I’m so sorry.” Stefan apologized tearily.

“Shhhh. It’s ok.” Elena insisted.

“I’m sorry.” Stefan apologized again.

All Ellie felt was anger every time she caught sight of Damon’s body, so she quickly exited the room. She found Elijah carefully putting the elixir away and wanted to scream. “His feeding her his blood effectively rendered this useless.” He told her.

“I figured it would.” She confessed. Any potential for a conversation was cut short as her phone went off. “Hello?” She asked as she answered.

_ “Ellie, hey.” _

“Tyler?” She asked in shock as she straightened up. “Ty, where the hell have you been?”

_ “I’m sorry for disappearing but listen, Ellie, I don’t have time for that right now. I’m at the hospital with my mom. She fell down the stairs.” _ Tyler told her.

“What? Is she ok? How did she fall?” Ellie asked the questions in rapid fire.

_ “I don’t know. But Ellie, it’s a full moon tonight and I can’t stay here. I need to leave. I was wondering if you could come stay with her. If she wakes up after I’m gone I don’t want it to be some stranger telling her I’ve left again.” _

“Ty…”

_ “Ellie, please. I know I’m a crap friend for bailing but I was going through a lot and I still don’t have everything perfectly under control. Please.”  _ It was rare for him to practically beg, and she knew she couldn’t say no.

“Will you at least stay long enough for me to get there so I can at least see for myself that you’re alright?” Ellie asked.

She could hear Tyler sigh slightly before he said,  _ “Yeah, just get here quick. I can’t stay for too much longer, but I had to make sure that she was alright.” _

“I’m on my way.” Ellie told him before hanging up. Elijah wordlessly handed her the keys to her car. “Thank you. I’ll be back soon.” She told him before quickly rushing out the door. After calling to let Caroline know what had happened, Ellie pulled into the hospital parking lot. Before she knew it, she was standing in the doorway of Mrs. Lockwood’s hospital room. “Ty.” 

She’d launched herself at him before she could help it. Holding him tightly to her because she knew once she’d let him go, he’d disappear again for who knew how long. “Hey, Ellie.”

“I’ve been so worried about you, you jerk.” She mumbled into his shoulder. “I’ve called you a thousand times.”

“I know. I’m so sorry. I haven’t had the best cell signal where I’ve been.” To his credit, Tyler looked like he felt incredibly guilty. “But I am ok, and I’m slowly getting the hang of things. I’ll come back as soon as I can. I promise.”

Ellie refused to let him go just yet, taking in that still familiar scent that was always so Tyler. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” She told him.

He laughed lightly. “Nothing’s gonna happen to me, Ellie. Except maybe you choking me to death.”

She pulled back just enough to glare at him. “I see that Lockwood humor hasn’t improved in the time you’ve been gone.” She sassed. 

“I know you don’t like it, but I should really go before she wakes back up. It’ll be easier this way.” Tyler said.

Ellie pulled him back into the hug. “That’s a stupid idea and I hate it.” She sounded like a petulant child, she was aware, but after all the death that had surrounded her lately, seeing that her best friend was still in one piece was a relief she didn’t want to let go of.

He carefully pulled away from her grasp. “I’m really sorry, but I have to go.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and hoped that she understood that he didn’t want to go, but he needed to. The people he cared about weren’t safe if he was a dangerous animal. “I’ll try and keep in contact more, but I have to go.”

* * *

After a while, Ellie finally left the hospital and made her way to The Grill. She had too much anxious energy for her to sit quietly in a hospital room when so much was happening. When she entered, Matt made his way over to her. “Hey, have you heard from Care? She was supposed to meet me for my lunch break but she hasn’t showed.” He asked.

Ellie frowned. “The last time I talked to her was letting her know that Mrs. Lockwood was in the hospital, I haven’t talked to her since. I thought she was going to swing by the hospital but she never did.” Ellie told him, but her thoughts flew out the window as warning bells went off in her head. All it took was one second to sense it, when she felt the energy only an Original could possess, and it sure as hell wasn’t Elijah. She turned to see an unfamiliar man approaching Alaric and Damon and said, “Maybe something came up.”

With that she left Matt and made her way to the others. There was no way in hell this man was anyone other than Klaus. “Gentlemen.” He greeted, his accent obvious. “Why so glum?”

Damon turned to look at him and groaned. “Klaus, I presume.”

“In the flesh.” Klaus replied. “Thanks for the loaner, mate.” He turned his gaze to Ellie. “Hello darling.”

Before she could reply, Damon stood from his seat and asked, “Any reason you stopped by to say hi?”

“I’m told you and your brother fancy my doppelgänger. Just thought I’d remind you not to do anything you’ll regret.”

Ellie scoffed slightly. It was a little late for that. “Thanks for the advice. I don’t suppose I could talk you into a postponement by any chance, huh?”

Klaus laughed and said, “You are kidding.” He turned to look at Ellie. “He is kidding, right?”

“No, not at all honestly.” Ellie confessed.

“I mean, come on, what’s one month in the whole grand scheme of things?” Damon asked.

“Let me be clear, I have my vampire. I have my werewolf. I have everything I need. I’ve even gotten so lucky as to have  _ two _ doppelgängers to choose from, though it would be a shameful waste to use a witch doppelgänger as anything other than a last resort. The ritual  _ will _ happen tonight. So if you want to live to see tomorrow, don’t screw it up.” Klaus said before he turned and strolled off.

Ellie’s blood was rushing in her ears. It was clearer now than ever why Katherine had run like hell. Something about him just screamed danger in a way that Elijah did not. “That was fun.” Damon said sarcastically.

“You’re gonna screw it up, aren’t you?”

“You think if I took his werewolf out of the equation, she might… get over the fact that I tried to turn her into a vampire?” Damon asked. It was almost sad how clear it was that he was in love with her.

“I think it won’t matter, because you’ll be dead.” Alaric said bluntly.

“But without the werewolf, he can’t perform the ritual tonight, which means I would have bought her one month before the next full moon.”

“But you’ll still be dead.” Alaric reminded him.

“Are you gonna help me or what?” Damon asked.

“What do you want me to do?” Alaric asked.

Damon turned to her. “What about you Sabrina, you in?” Ellie nodded. She might hate him, but she knew Elena didn’t want to be a vampire. “Then let’s go. We need to talk to Katherine. If anyone knows where he’s keeping the wolf and the vampire, it’s her.” She took her car and followed them on the way to Alaric’s. 

They didn’t say much on their way up and she stood out of the way as he opened the door. “Look who’s dumb enough to come back.” Katherine’s voice was full of sass and Ellie wasn’t ashamed to admit that it was so good to hear it.

“Well, somebody had to invite him in.” Alaric sassed right back. “Damon, would you like to, uh, come in?”

Damon strolled inside and Katherine shoved him into the wall. “Are you trying to get me killed?” She asked.

He returned the favor, pinning her to the other wall with his hand around her throat. “I gave you vervain, now I’m here to collect.” Damon informed her. “I got it from here, Ric.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, only one of us needs to get blamed for this. Get back to the house.” Damon said as Ellie stepped farther into the apartment. “Keep Elena from handing herself over.”

“Get blamed for what?” Katherine asked as she shoved Damon away.

“I need to know where Klaus is keeping his werewolf.”

“Why? What are you going to do?” Katherine questioned.

“Dead werewolf equals no ritual.”

“No.” Katherine immediately insisted. “You can’t interfere, Damon. Klaus will kill you and everyone you’ve ever met.” She knew Katherine would hate it if she said it aloud, but it sounded like Katherine was actually worried.

“I just need to delay this thing.” Damon replied.

“No. No way.”

As Katherine started to walk away, he told her, “You should like this. It’s going to buy another month of your pathetic life.”

“Right. Except that I’m not the vampire he’s planning on sacrificing.” Katherine said smugly.

“What?”

“Yeah. He’s got Caroline Forbes and Tyler Lockwood. Therefore, I’m in the clear.”

“And where’d you get that idea from?” Damon asked as he stalked towards her. Internally, Ellie was in full blown freak out mode. That’s why Caroline never made it to the hospital or to go see Matt. It was probably why Mrs. Lockwood was in the hospital in the first place.

“Hey! Hey, hey, hey, I’m just trying to stay alive long enough to get myself out of here.” Katherine told him.

Damon seemed frustrated before he said, “What if I told you Elena had vampire blood in her system?”

“What?” Katherine asked sharply.

“Imagine how much fun that’ll be competing with Elena for Stefan’s love for, I don’t know, forever.” Damon sassed.

“Katherine, please.” Ellie asked softly.

The older vampire turned to her and made a face before sighing and confessing, “The tomb. He’s got them in the tomb.”

“Thank you.” Ellie said sincerely. As Damon started to walk out, Ellie reached out and gave Katherine’s hand a squeeze and hoped the other girl understood. Just before she had to let go, Katherine squeezed back. Ellie shot her a small smile before following Damon out. She felt much better knowing that for the most part, Katherine was alright. Despite the girl probably being scared to death, which would make sense since the man that was holding her captive had murdered her entire family, she was hiding it well.

“Let’s go. We don’t have time to waste.” Damon insisted and Ellie had to practically run to keep up. “Get in.” Damon told her. If it was literally any other time, she might have snapped his neck again, but Tyler and Caroline’s lives were on the line. He sped to the woods and they were quick to hop out of the car when they couldn’t drive any further. “You can speed this up, Sabrina.”

At this rate, he was going to forget that her name wasn't actually Sabrina. But she rolled her eyes and let her magic do the work and began leading them through the woods as fast as she could. They were almost to Tyler and Caroline when she stopped suddenly. He gave her a look of confusion as she quietly said, “Damon, we’re not alone.”

He nodded and they continued on at a slower rate as he kept an ear out. She knew it was a witch and it had to be one of Klaus’. “Which one are you trying to save?” A man’s voice rang out. “The blonde, or the wolf?” They turned to face him. “Did you really think Klaus would leave them unprotected?”

“Wishful thinking.” Damon said sarcastically. Ellie threw up a shield around herself right as Damon launched at the man, tackling him and choking him at the same time. With ease, the man threw Damon away and into the rocks.

She watched as he raised a hand and used the same pain infliction she’d used on Damon earlier. He looked confused however when she didn’t react. “Sorry, I’m not that stupid.” She scoffed before her own hand raised and she watched as he struggled to defend himself from her attack while also trying to attack her and Damon. A sudden shot rang out and Ellie flinched away, her eyes going from the blood running down the witch’s shirt to Matt who was standing a few yards away with a shotgun. “Matt?” Her voice was nearly shrill.

Once he’d snapped the neck of the witch, he looked at Matt in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Where’s Caroline?”

“Listen, man. Not a good time to play the hero.” Damon said.

Matt cocked the gun as he raised it. “Where is she?” He insisted. “And what’d he do to her?”

“I’m just here to rescue her, ok?” Damon said.

The next thing Ellie knew, Damon had taken the gun and hit Matt across the face with it. “Matt!” She shouted as she dropped next to him, checking for a pulse. “Thank god.”

“You’re lucky I already screwed up once today, or you’d be dead.” Damon said to Matt as he went to unload the gun.

“ _ You’re _ lucky that all he’s gonna have is a bruise and a headache otherwise  _ you’d _ be dead.” Ellie reminded him darkly. Her attention was caught by the bullets that had fallen and she made a face as she picked them up. “Damon, these are wooden bullets.” She said in surprise. Damon made a face before taking the bullets and pocketing them.

“Let’s go.” Damon told her as he pulled her to her feet.

They found the door and Damon forced it open and as they approached, Ellie could hear chains rattling. “Damon?” Caroline asked in surprise.

“Your boyfriend’s outside with a rifle loaded with wooden bullets. You have some explaining to do.” Damon told her.

“What, Matt?”

“Matt knows about you?” Tyler asked in surprise.

“No I-”

“Shh, tomorrow’s problem.” Damon said. “Let me just get you out of here.”

Caroline hugged Ellie tightly but when Damon tried to remove them from the room, both girls pulled back. “Wait, Damon, no. I’m not leaving without him.” Caroline insisted.

“And you’re already on thin ice with me.” Ellie warned.

Damon groaned before turning to Tyler. “It’s getting dark soon. How fast can you get the hell away from here?”

“I need to get to my family’s cellar.” Tyler said. “I can lock myself up.”

“I’ll help.” Caroline offered.

Damon knelt down to rip off the chains. “Don’t make me regret this.” 

When they made it out of the cellar, the moon was already rising. “Matt.” Caroline said as he moved to the groaning boy. “Hey! Did you hit him?”

“Did you already forget part about the gun with the wooden bullets?” Damon sassed.

Tyler stumbled and groaned and Ellie turned to watch him. “Tyler?”

He looked up to the sky before telling them, “It’s starting.”

“Grab boy wonder and let’s go.” Damon told them.

“Come on.” Caroline said as she followed after them. Ellie quickly sent a text to Jenna, telling her to stay inside at all costs until she could get home. They were moving as fast as they could, and Ellie was uttering healing spells under her breath to help Matt out.

“What’s happening? Is he ok?” Matt asked worriedly as he kept glancing back at Tyler.

“He better not wolf out on us.” Damon said as he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Bad time, little bro. Saving the day. I figured you’d understand. Just tell Elena to stay put.” He said. “What?” Ellie turned to see Damon looking like he wanted to curse. “I’ll take care of it.”

Tyler dropped down and started to scream as they watched in fear. “I don’t know if I can hold it off. Get out of here.” Tyler told them.

“Tyler, it’ll be ok.” Caroline tried.

“Go!” Tyler yelled, his voice shifted into something unfamiliar.

“We’ve got time. We’re almost there, just…”

“It’s happening, faster.” Tyler groaned.

“Tyler, it’s ok.” She said, but something was off and he lunged at her. Damon tackled him before Ellie could throw up a wall to protect her. The two struggled with Tyler growling at biting at Damon. Ellie used her magic to fling Tyler away. “Damon?” Caroline asked in concern.

“I’m fine.”

“Get out of here!” Tyler demanded.

“Get to the Lockwood cellar. If it held him in, it’ll keep him out.” Damon told them. “If it doesn’t, use these.” He said as he offered up the wooden bullets. “It’ll buy you a couple seconds.” Matt loaded the gun before Damon insisted that they go. “Witchy, you come with me.”

She didn’t hesitate to run with Damon and hoped to whoever was listening that Matt and Caroline were ok. “I need to get to Jenna.” Ellie said as they ran to his car. Damon nodded as they made it to his car. She was sure he had to be going close to a hundred with the way her breath was caught in her throat. He didn’t even pull into the driveway before she’d hopped out and ran up to the porch. He was gone before she got the door unlocked. “Jenna!” Ellie yelled as she slammed the door shut behind her.

Jenna came racing down the stairs at Ellie’s panicked call. “Ellie?”

“He has her. He has Elena.” Ellie said.

All the color drained from Jenna’s face. “Oh my god.”

“Where’s Jeremy?” Ellie asked.

“He’s with Bonnie.”

“And John?” 

“I’m right here.” John said as he rounded the corner. Before he could say anything, Ellie rushed over to him and hugged him tightly. She was shaking. In the time since Isobel’s death, the two of them had bonded over memories of her parents and of Isobel. She didn’t hate him, she’d managed to make that abundantly clear. And right now, he was the only father she had. And she really needed a dad right now.

She didn’t let go as she explained. “He has Elena. He’s going to kill her and she’s going to turn.”

“What?” John asked in shock.

Had no one told him? “Damon force fed her his blood earlier. When Klaus kills her, she’s gonna turn.” Ellie confessed. “Unless we can figure something else out.” She ripped away from him and nearly tripped from going up the stairs so fast. She pulled out some of the grimoires that she’d been given by Grams. “John!” She called and she could hear them rushing up the stairs.

He was at her door nearly in an instant. “What is it?”

“I need you, I need you to take these to Bonnie. There’s a couple of options that I’ve found in my research that might be a way to save Elena. Right now, Bonnie’s got more magic than me. She can do this. She can pick which one she thinks will work best and we can save Elena.” Ellie said. It was a desperate, last chance effort and they knew it.

But they couldn’t afford to not take it. “Alright, give them to me.” Ellie made sure all the spells were marked so Bonnie knew which ones she needed before passing them to John. He hadn’t expected her to be a witch. It was something that had caught him by surprise, but he in turn had surprised her by telling her that he was proud that she wanted to protect the people she cared about the way she did.

She cried when he told her that her mom would have been so proud of everything she’d done. Once he had the books, he started to leave, but Ellie stopped him with another hug. She was still shaking. “I love you, John.” She told him and she poured as much sincerity into the words. In all honesty, she wasn’t sure she’d ever told him before. “Thank you for trying so hard to protect us. It was a really good dad move.”

He stiffened at her calling him dad. Neither of the girls ever did that. John hugged her just as tightly and kissed her hair. “I love you too, Ellie. What’s brought this on?”

“If something goes wrong and I don’t survive. I just wanted you to know that I do love you. Elena loves you too.” Ellie promised.

It meant so much to him, to hear that from her. He’d felt like he’d failed them for so long, failed his brother for so long, and here when it mattered the most, his precious daughter made sure to let him know she loved him. “I love you so much.” He said softly. “You’re not going to die.” With one last kiss to her hair and one last squeeze, he pulled away. “I should get these to Bonnie.”

With that he was gone, but the anxiety in her stomach was only getting worse as she put her things away. When stuff started moving quickly downstairs, Ellie went down to see what was going on. “Elena, Elena, slow down. It’s ok.” Jenna was saying. “It’s gonna be ok, Elena. I’m coming.”

“Whoa, what are you talking about?” Ellie said as she grabbed Jenna’s arm.

“That was Elena, she said she got away from him, we need to go-” Jenna slung the door open, but Ellie threw up a barrier that kept her from stepping through the protection of the house. “Ellie what are you-”

Jenna noticed that Ellie wasn’t looking at her at all. Instead, Ellie was looking at something outside. “Klaus.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! We are so so close to the ritual now. I'm really excited for it. Please leave a comment and let me know what you guys thought!
> 
> Posted: 11/7/20


	40. The Sun Also Rises

**Chapter 40: The Sun Also Rises**

_ April 28, 2010 _

“Klaus.” Ellie gasped as she yanked Jenna behind her. “What are you doing here?”

He gave her a look as he replied, “Well darling, it seems I’m short a vampire since Damon Salvatore decided to take mine. I’ve come to fetch a replacement.”

When he gave a pointed look at Jenna, Ellie pushed her farther behind Ellie and out of his line of sight. “No! No way in hell.”

“Well, I think it’s only fair. I think dear Jenna as the replacement vampire is just right.” Klaus drawled. “Come along now, Jenna. I don’t have all night.”

“No!” Ellie repeated, more forcefully than before.

He clearly didn’t like her tone, if the glare he gave her was anything to go by. “If you were anyone else, I’d kill you for that. I’m tempted to do so anyway, little witch.” He hissed. “You lot just seem eager to die with the way you keep testing my patience.”

“Klaus, please. You’re about to kill my sister and we’ve already lost our parents. My brother needs her.” Ellie pleaded.

“So sad. Now come along, Jenna.” Klaus said as he gestured for her to come forward. “Either you come out, or I burn this house down and you have no choice but to come out.”

“Wait! Wait!” Ellie pleaded and took a dangerous step closer to the door. “Let’s make a deal.”

That caught his attention, and he turned to focus on her. “Ellie, no.” Jenna said quietly as she gripped at Ellie’s hand.

“A deal?” Klaus said curiously. “What kind of a deal? What could  _ you _ offer me that I’d want?”

“Me.” Ellie told him. He quirked up an eyebrow at that. “You’ve never encountered a doppelgänger that was a witch right?” She asked. “That makes me one of a kind. Something unique and possibly irreplaceable. Leave Jenna, and the rest of my friends and family alone, and I’ll come with you. Wherever you intend to go.”

“Ellie!” Jenna said in panic.

“You’d come with me?” Klaus said, clearly intrigued. “Wherever I went?”

“So long as the rest of my friends and family are safe from you, then yes.” Ellie told him. “No one else gets hurt, no one else dies. You do the sacrifice and then we leave.” Elijah was going to be furious. This was the exact opposite of trying to keep herself out of danger. But she couldn’t let Jenna die. “Think about it. Who knows what kind of benefits there could be from having a doppelgänger witch on your side?”

Klaus observed her for a long moment, and she could feel her heart beating erratically in her chest as she waited for his answer. “You’d really give up everything to keep your aunt alive?”

“Without hesitation.” She insisted. There was no need to even think about it before she answered him. She knew it was true. Jenna had been like a big sister to Ellie for her entire life. She’d given up her life as a relatively carefree college stoner to take care of them after their parents, and Jeremy needed some sort of parental figure in his life. She couldn’t leave him alone.

“How do I know you’re not lying to me?” Klaus asked.

Ellie took a huge risk, and stepped out onto the porch with him. “I give you my word that I’ll go with you, so long as you don’t hurt my friends or my family and you don’t use Jenna as your vampire sacrifice.” Ellie said as she smothered her fear and stared him dead in the eye.

Suddenly, Klaus grinned brightly at her. “Well! Seems we have a deal then, darling.” He said as he took her hand. “I give you my word that I will not use dear Jenna as my vampire sacrifice and I will not harm your friends or family.” He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. “Well, I suppose we have to go get another vampire. Come along.”

“One second.” Ellie said as she darted back into the house and hugged Jenna as the other woman cried. “It’s ok. I’m gonna be ok and so are you, I love you so much.” Ellie reminded, pressing the keys of her car into Jenna’s hand. “It’s at The Grill. Take care of it for me.”

Jenna looked distraught. “Ellie…”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” Jenna said tearfully and then their hug was ending, and Ellie stepped back onto the porch where Klaus took a hold of her as her hand slipped from Jenna’s.

“This is all very touching, but we’ve got places to be.” Klaus said as he pulled her towards his car. “In you go.” Once they were in, Ellie felt like she was going to have a panic attack as the silence stretched between them. He kept his eyes peeled for someone to turn and as they came across the hospital, the headlights illuminated what looked to be a homeless woman walking alone. “Suppose she’ll do.” He said as he pulled over next to her. “Stay in the car.” He insisted.

She watched as he got out of the car and struck up a conversation with the woman, looking ever so charming. Then, he’d ripped into his wrist, and shoved the blood into the woman’s mouth. Ellie winced as she watched the woman struggle, and tried to not feel guilty about causing this woman’s death. However, there was no way she could have stopped the startled cry from watching him snap the woman’s neck like it was nothing. “Oh my god.” She choked as he slung the woman over his shoulder before dropping her unceremoniously into the backseat.

“What?” He asked in confusion as he returned to the driver’s seat. “It’s not like you didn’t see it coming.” He reminded her.

“Doesn’t mean I wanted to see it at all.” Ellie said softly as she tried to distract herself from catching a glimpse of the corpse in the back.

“Ahh, you’ll get used to it, don’t worry.” He said, as if it were a funny joke. Ellie didn’t understand what he was doing when he pulled into the parking lot of Alaric’s apartment building. “Now, you’re going to go up there, and you’re going to stay with Katherine until all of this messy business is over.”

“What?” She asked.

He sighed, as if talking to a toddler that didn’t understand what no meant. “You, go upstairs. I’m not so cruel as to make you watch your own sister’s death. Though, I could be if I change my mind. Last thing I need is for a witch trying to get in my way at the last moment and mess everything up. I mean, wouldn’t you just hate to try and save her only to mess everything up and she would die for nothing?” Her face paled. “That’s what I thought. Now up you go. And if you try to run, I’ll personally rip all of your friends apart, piece by piece.”

Ellie felt sick at the image her brain came up with. So, she simply got out of the car and did as she was told. When she reached Alaric’s apartment and stumbled inside, Ellie was falling into a full blown panic attack. “Ellie?” Katherine’s voice sounded like she was underwater. “Ellie why are you here?”

“He… he was gonna kill her. He came for Jenna.” Ellie choked. 

Katherine felt guilty. Guiltier than she had in a very long time. She’d never expected Ellie to have such a reaction. “Ellie, I’m so sorry. He made me call her. If I hadn’t, he would have killed me.” Katherine apologized.

“He killed someone else and I had to watch.” Ellie said as she gripped at her chest. She couldn’t breathe.

Katherine took her face in her hands, forcing Ellie to look at her. “Ellie, breathe.” She insisted. Had Ellie not been a witch, it probably would have worked better. “What do you mean he killed someone else?” 

That seemed to snap Ellie out of it a bit. “He… I… I made a deal with Klaus. I’d go with him if he left everyone else alone.” Ellie confessed.

“You didn’t.” Katherine said in shock as she stared at the girl in wide eyed confusion.

“I had to!” Ellie replied. “I know you didn’t have a choice in calling her, but Katherine, I didn’t have a choice but to save her.” Ellie was trying hard to focus on Katherine. The last thing she needed was to destroy Alaric’s apartment with her magic from a panic attack. Katherine had a strange look on her face. “Katherine it’s not your fault.”

Really, Ellie didn’t blame her. She knew Katherine would do whatever it took to survive. Klaus would have brutally killed her after he tortured her had she disobeyed. “I’m so sorry.” Katherine wondered what it would have been like to have a sibling so fiercely loyal that they’d give their own life to keep her safe. Her father had been a scary man, and she’d had no one to protect her from him. There was only so much that Malina could have done. “I told Damon that I called Jenna.”

“They’re gonna try and save her.” Ellie said in realization. “I have to go, I have to help them.”

“Ellie, you can’t. If Klaus told you to stay here, and then he finds out you left, there’s gonna be consequences.” Katherine insisted. “Ellie, he will kill you or worse.”

Ellie looked desperate. “I have to at least do something.” She said. She jolted slightly when she felt her phone still tucked away in her back pocket. Ellie called Bonnie first, but the witch didn’t pick up. She called Jeremy and John, hell she even called Damon, but no one answered. “For fuck’s sake this is not the time for all you to have your phones on silent.” Ellie cursed.

Desperately, she called Elijah.  _ “Eleanor, where are you?” _ He asked sharply.

“It’s not Jenna!” She nearly shouted.

_ “What?” _ Elijah questioned.

“It’s not… it’s not Jenna! I was at the house when he came. I made a deal, Jenna’s safe. Please tell me someone hasn’t attempted a rescue mission yet.” She begged.

There was a moment of tense silence before he replied.  _ “Stefan has gone to try and barter for Jenna’s life. Eleanor what do you mean you made a  _ deal _ with Klaus?” _

“I…”

_ “Eleanor.” _ His tone was sharper, sharper than anything he’d ever used with her. It made her nervous. She knew he was going to be more than a little pissed at what she’d done.

“Please, Elijah. I didn’t have a choice. Jeremy needed a parent in his life. I couldn’t stand there and do nothing. What’s going on?” Ellie said.

_ “Bonnie and your brother are going through the grimoires your uncle brought as well as the Gilbert journals he went back to your home to receive. What deal did you make with him?” _ Elijah all but demanded.

She hesitated, glancing over at Katherine who seemed all too interested in the conversation. “I told him if he let her go, and if he didn’t hurt and of my other friends or family, that I would go with him.”

_ “Go with him  _ where _?”  _ Elijah asked.

“Wherever he wants me to go.”

_ “You traded your life for theirs?” _ It was more of a statement than a question.

“You do whatever you have to do for family.” Ellie replied. “You shouldn’t be surprised that it’s a price that I’m willing to pay.”

He sighed heavily.  _ “I’m not, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t think that it was incredibly reckless. Where are you?” _

“I’m at Alaric’s apartment with Katherine.” Ellie told him. “Elijah, how long does a werewolf stay in transition?”

_ “A werewolf’s first transition is typically his longest. We can’t be sure if the same rules apply to a hybrid, but I would assume so. Why?”  _

Ellie looked back over at Katherine, who was shaking her head in disapproval. “Klaus told me to stay at the apartment. I’ve got time to get there and help however I can.”

_ “That could be very dangerous.” _ Elijah warned.

“See! He’s smart, Ellie. You should listen to him.” Katherine encouraged.

“If something happens, and Klaus survives, this could be my last chance to say goodbye to my family.” Ellie told them both softly. “I’ve already done one thing you disagree with, this is just going to have to be one more.”

Ellie did something that she’d never been so reckless to do before. She hung up on him. “Are you insane?” Katherine asked. “You can’t just… Ellie,  _ no _ . I won’t let you.”

“Please don’t.” Ellie pleaded.

When Katherine tried to rush her, Ellie’s hand flew up, pinning the vampire in place without hurting her. “Ellie, come back here!” Katherine demanded.

“I will be back, after I go help them.” Ellie said. Once she was out of Katherine’s range, she released her hold on the vampire and dialed another number.

_ “Ellie?” _ Jenna asked.

“I need you to come get me from Ric’s. I only have so much time before I have to be back here so Klaus doesn’t know and we need to get to Jeremy.” Ellie said in a rush.

_ “I’m on my way. I’ll be there as fast as I can.” _ Jenna said and Ellie made her way downstairs, ignoring the fact that both Elijah and Katherine were probably going to have something to say about her recklessness.

Ellie was pacing in front of the apartment complex when she saw the headlights of her car speeding towards her. “Thank god. We gotta move fast.” Ellie said as she slid into the seat. Jenna followed the directions Ellie gave her with ease, not questioning it as they drove further into the woods.

Jenna felt like she was going to be sick. If this didn’t work, and Klaus didn’t die, she just lost one of her nieces to a psychopath. A psychopath that was going to end up being totally immortal with no real way to kill him that wouldn’t get other people killed as well. God, what would Miranda say if she knew that Jenna let this happen? She was supposed to protect these kids, and yet somehow Ellie managed to basically sign away her whole life while Jenna could do nothing but stand there and watch. When they arrived, Ellie was out of the car before it was even parked.

“Jenna, come on.” Ellie called as they rushed towards the house.

“What is this place?” Jenna asked.

“It’s that house where all those witches were killed, including Emily.” Ellie explained.

“The girl that was like Katherine’s maid, servant, whatever?” Jenna asked.

“Mmhmm, she’s also a witch and Bonnie’s ancestor. This house has a lot of witch mojo in it. They’re using it to make Bonnie stronger.” Ellie told her as they made their way in the house. 

Alaric was the first to notice them, and Ellie watched the emotions as they ran across his face. He was shocked, and then it looked like he wasn’t sure to believe his eyes. Then, something in him cracked, and he rushed to Jenna and pulled her into his hold. “Oh thank god.” His voice broke as he held her. “Damon said… I thought you… Jenna I thought I lost you.”

Jenna was holding him back just as tightly. They were both crying, and it helped ease some of the panic that was eating away at Ellie. Alaric had already lost his wife, it would have been a lethal blow for him to lose the woman he loved. “I’m ok.” She told him and Ellie watched as Jenna desperately grasped at the fabric of Alaric’s shirt, trying to pull him closer.

When he pulled back slightly, he cupped Jenna’s face carefully. “I love you so much.” He said it with so much sincerity that Ellie’s eyes watered. If nothing else went the way it was supposed to, then at least she did this right.

“I love you too.” Jenna replied and when he leaned down to kiss her, Ellie made her exit to give them some privacy.

Elijah was the next person she came across. “Elijah.” She said softly, and he turned to face her.

It was clear that he was angry with her. “How could you be so reckless?” He asked as he made his way towards her.

“I couldn’t let her die.” Ellie told him calmly. She would not apologize for that. “Besides, if Klaus is going to be dead soon, then it doesn’t matter what deal I made with him, and I still saved Jenna’s life.” Elijah made a face, and she knew he realized that she was right. He was about to kill Klaus, so the deal she made didn’t matter. “It’s going to be over soon, right?”

Elijah swallowed his frustration as he observed her. She was messing with Isobel’s necklace again. It seemed to be a habit she’d developed when she was nervous. Even though he didn’t like it, she was right. Once Klaus was dead, the deal she made with him wouldn’t matter. “It is.” He finally said. “It seems Bonnie and Damon are ready for us to go.”

She followed him out into the hall and pulled Bonnie into a tight hug. “Please, please be careful.” Ellie pleaded. “I’d hate to have to drag your ass out of the afterlife just to fight you for being stupid.”

Bonnie laughed slightly as she hugged Ellie back. “I’ll be safe I promise.” She assured her. “Everything’s going to be fine, I know it.”

Ellie hoped she was right. “I love you, be safe.”

“I love you too.” Bonnie replied. “John is with Jeremy downstairs, please help him understand that it wasn’t safe for him to go.”

“I will.” Ellie said. 

She kept a hold on Bonnie as they walked towards the door. Damon paused at the sight of Jenna wrapped safely in Alaric’s arms. “Jenna?” Bonnie said in surprise.

Damon immediately turned to look at Ellie. “As if I’d let him take her.” Ellie said simply.

“What did you do?” Damon asked in confusion.

She could see that Bonnie was a bit worried, understandably so. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell you about it when this is over.” She assured her. She didn’t need the added pressure on Bonnie if the other witch knew that Ellie’s life was kind of on the line.

“It’s time.” Elijah announced to Alaric and the other man moved to follow the rest of them.

“I got the weapons in the car.” Alaric said as they walked. 

“Bonnie’s the only weapon we need.” Elijah replied. Ellie wasn’t surprised when a barrier came up that didn’t allow Alaric to pass through.

Alaric grunted as he hit the barrier. “Bonnie! Ellie! What is this?” He called as they stopped.

“I can’t put anyone else at risk.” Bonnie replied.

“I can’t just stay here when Elena and Stefan are out there!” Alaric demanded.

“I’m sorry.” Bonnie apologized.

“You can’t do this! Damon?” Alaric asked.

“Sorry, buddy. She’s right.” Damon replied.

Ellie hugged Bonnie one last time before releasing her. “Give him hell.” Ellie said instead of saying goodbye. Bonnie nodded and Ellie stepped back as they walked away. She shared one last look at Elijah, before they both turned away from one another and Ellie made her way back into the house.

“Ellie! You can’t seriously be letting them go without us?” Alaric demanded as Jenna walked over.

She sighed as she stepped back into the house. “Bonnie has got an insane amount of power in her corner right now, and Elijah is literally an Original. If they can’t take down Klaus on their own, there’s not much we could do to help them.” Ellie explained. When he looked like he was going to protest she added, “If we go, that’s just two more people for them to be worried about getting killed. They’ll be more focused if we aren’t there.”

“It’s safer for us here.” Jenna stepped in, and she watched as Ellie relaxed a bit. “We just have to wait a while.”

“But what about Elena? She’ll be a vampire.” Alaric asked.

“No, she won’t.” John replied as he made his appearance.

That was the best news he could have announced. “Bonnie figured out a spell to use?” Ellie asked in relief.

“Yes. There were entries in Jonathan Gilbert’s journals confirming that the spell she used will work as it’s supposed to. Elena will come back to life, just as she was before.” He confirmed. “What took you so long to get here?” He questioned.

Ellie shot a pleading look at Jenna before telling him, “Just had some stuff I needed to get done before we came.”

Thankfully, Jenna didn’t call her out on her lie. “Jeremy’s asleep downstairs, it’ll probably be a bit before he wakes up.” 

Jenna made a face at John. “He’s asleep? With everything that’s going on?” She asked.

“Bonnie had to… subdue him because he wanted to go with her. She was doing it to keep him safe.” John replied. Ellie understood what he meant. There was no way that Jeremy would have let Bonnie go without him being there with her. He was way too protective for that. “Ellie, do you think you could come with me? There’s something we need to talk about.”

Ellie shot Alaric and Jenna a look of confusion, but neither of them seemed to know what was up. “Yeah.” She agreed and followed him into a room with an old looking couch. They both sat and Ellie frowned at his expression, “What’s going on?”

To her surprise, he reached out and took a hold of her hands. “The spell that Bonnie performed, it’s not one of the ones you’d marked. She looked at those, but when we found a spell that Jonathan Gilbert confirmed in his journals to be successful, we decided to go with that one. We couldn’t take any chances with Elena’s life.”

“That makes sense, but what is it?” Ellie asked as she squeezed his hand. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

He sighed before he confessed, “The spell works by saving Elena’s soul. Nature needs balance so…”

It took a moment before she asked, “A soul for a soul?” His expression spoke volumes, “Who’s soul?”

“Mine.” 

A flood of emotions overwhelmed her, leaving her feeling sick. “You’re the only parent we have left.” She said softly.

“Parents aren’t supposed to outlive their children, Ellie.” John replied. “There is a lot of stuff that I have done wrong when it comes to taking care of the two of you. All I ever wanted was to give you two the opportunity to grow up normally. Grayson will always be your dad, he was always a better dad than I could have ever hoped to be, but I love you and Elena just as much as he did.”

The familiar longing that came with the mention of dead parents was now accompanied by the new grief of losing John. “We know you love us, John. I hope you know that. We love you too. You did the best you knew how to do.” She told him. “Ever since Isobel died, I’ve been so grateful for the time that we’ve gotten together. Honestly, I thought you would have been disappointed in me for being a witch.”

“I’ve never been disappointed in you, Ellie.” John replied with such sincerity that she had no choice but to believe him. “In everything that Isobel had learned about Katherine and her family, she’d never really found anything to indicate that they’d been witches, so I was surprised. But vampires aren’t natural, they aren’t supposed to exist. Witches however, have always existed, since the beginning of humanity. I don’t despise witches, and I would have never been disappointed in you for being one.”

“I thought you hated supernatural creatures.” Ellie said.

“Most of that hate is just for vampires. They are the thing that our family has always fought against. But our family has also known witches and worked with them, like Emily.” John told her. “Ellie, I’m so proud of how hard you’ve worked to be able to protect your siblings. Grayson and Miranda would be so proud of you, of who you are now. I hope you never forget that.”

Ellie’s vision blurred as the tears came unbridled. She turned into him, and shook in his embrace. “I don’t want you to die.” She told him as she sniffled. 

Her reaction wasn’t what he’d expected in the slightest. They’d spent a good deal of time together since he found out she was a witch, but he’d never expected for her to care so much. “I’ll always watch over you and Elena. And I know it’s hard, and I wish there was another way, but this is what I have to do. This is what a parent is supposed to be willing to do for their child.”

She held onto him for a long time as she tried to come to terms with what she’d been told. Bonnie was already gone, which meant the spell was already cast. Even if there was something that Ellie could do, John wouldn’t let her. Life wasn’t fair. It was so god awfully unfair that Ellie wanted to scream until her lungs gave out. What had she ever done to lose all four of her parents in tragic deaths? “Does Jeremy know?” Ellie finally asked.

“Not yet.” John replied. “I’ll tell him, don’t worry.” There was no way that she was going to stop worrying. She was holding onto her last parent, someone who was about to become another body that they had to bury. Another loved one lost.

* * *

Bonnie’s spell ended up being so strong that Jeremy had slept through the night. He was the only one that slept. The rest of them were anxious, and Ellie felt the pull of the witches she had spent so much time with brewing in the house. They were ready to take down Klaus. Ellie had stayed glued to John’s side, desperate to spend as much time with him as she could manage. She wasn’t sure if it made her better or worse knowing that she was spending so much time with him as his time ran out.

Something had happened when the moon was still out. Ellie had felt the pull of the witches. She felt drained as if she too had been channeled. Emily told her nothing of what had happened. Ellie wasn’t even sure if Emily knew. The sun had risen, and no one knew where the others were. They’d not seen or heard from Stefan or Bonnie or Damon. Anxiety was eating away at Ellie’s insides. Had something gone wrong? All she knew was that Elena had not come back yet, or John wouldn’t be beside her writing away on that letter of his.

He had explained that it was his letter to Elena, explaining what had happened. Ellie was not above admitting that she’d spent a great deal of the night crying. When John had explained to Jenna what he’d done, he’d been surprised that she too dissolved into tears and held him tightly. The two girls had not left his side since then. “We should have heard from them by now.” Alaric sighed. They all knew he was right, but they had no answer for him.

“Did you read all this?” Jeremy asked. Ellie turned from where she’d been watching John to look at her brother who was staring intently at the words written in Jonathan Gilbert’s journal.

“I did.” John confessed.

“So you understand what happened to the child’s mother after the baby was brought back to life.” Jeremy said.

John didn’t look at him as he replied, “She saved her daughter. She found peace.”

“John…” Jeremy started, but he trailed off.

Ellie felt a knot in her throat as her emotions threatened to go out of control. John stood and walked over to Jeremy, handing him the letter he’d written. “I need you to give this to Elena for me. And also this.” They watched as John pulled off his ring and passed it to the younger Gilbert.

“Oh hey, what’s going on?” Alaric asked softly. His gaze shifted to the two girls in the room, and he noticed how red their eyes were. Ellie’s hand was shaking in Jenna’s.

John sighed heavily and Ellie’s lips trembled as he looked between her, Jeremy, and Jenna. “Take care of each other. Please.”

Ellie felt like she was going to be sick, but she didn’t get the chance to react. A door squeaked open and Alaric said, “I think they’re here.” He and Jeremy rushed up the stairs, but Ellie and Jenna lingered behind.

“John…” Ellie said softly, her voice cracking.

There were a million emotions clear in his eyes. “You should go be up there with Elena when she wakes up.” He replied.

She was hugging him like her life depended on it so fast he hadn’t even registered she’d moved. “I love you so much.” She said, and he could feel his shirt becoming damp with her tears.

“I love you too, Ellie. You need to go upstairs. This isn’t something you need to be here for.” John said as he blinked back his own tears. Jenna was the only one that saw how watery his eyes became. She joined the hug between the father and daughter as she tried to process how much worse this would have been for the kids if she’d died too. John held them tightly as he tried to reign in his emotions. At least he could die knowing that his daughters loved him, and that he died saving his child. And at least he’d get to see his brother again soon. “Jenna, please, take Ellie upstairs to check on Elena.”

Jenna understood what he was trying to do, and as much as she didn’t want to, she knew it would be traumatic to witness this. “Ellie come on, we need to check on Elena.” Jenna said softly. Ellie whimpered, and John pressed one last kiss to her head before he let her go. Jenna had to force Ellie to move and tried hard not to cry as she felt her niece trembling. The two of them made it into the room where Damon was kneeling next to Elena’s body. “How is she?” Jenna asked.

“I don’t know yet.” Damon replied. Ellie took a hold of Jeremy’s hand and squeezed tightly. She prayed desperately to whoever was listening, and as if on cue, Elena gasped violently, shooting up. “Elena?” Damon asked as Jeremy and Ellie jerked towards their sister.

“What happened?” Elena asked in a shaky voice. She was breathless, and panting heavily.

“How do you feel?” Damon asked.

“I feel fine.” The tension drained out of Damon’s body at her response. Ellie was openly crying at that point, and dropped down to her knees as she pulled Elena to her. Elena hugged her back with as much strength as she could. “Ellie what happened? What’s going on?”

She pulled back and held Elena’s face in her hands as she stared at the twin she’d come so close to losing. Her emotions were overwhelming her, and even Damon seemed to realize that Ellie was struggling to handle it. Elena looked so confused as Ellie rested her forehead against her twins. No one said anything as they let Ellie gather herself. Finally, she confessed, “Elena, John’s gone.”

It was a blur from the time she’d told Elena what had happened. She let Stefan and Damon handle getting everything prepared for John’s funeral. In the midst of her grief, she did not dare ask what happened with the sacrifice. Caroline had been at Ellie’s side faster than she’d ever been before and held Ellie as her grief consumed her. Ellie had never been so grateful for Caroline as she’d been in that moment. Caroline had helped her dress, and was there for Ellie as she alternated between feeling nothing and feeling too much of everything. 

Once she was ready, she’d stayed wrapped in Jenna’s embrace as they waited to go. When they arrived at the cemetery, Ellie held on to Jeremy so tightly she was afraid she’d bruise him, but she could not bear to let him go. Caroline was right behind them, and Ellie could feel the touch of her friend, reassuring her that she was still right there.

She nearly hesitated in her approach to the graves, and her emotions made her feel like she was drowning all over again. But this time, there was no sweet release as the darkness consumed her. No, this time, she would not be allowed to give into the water. Someone had gotten a thing of roses, and Ellie was given three of them. She eyed the fresh dirt of John’s grave and tried desperately to push away her pain.

Elena was the first to lay down a rose, and Ellie followed her lead. When she noticed how Elena’s shoulders shook, Ellie broke away from her brother. The twins wrapped themself around each other as they tried to process their emotions. Jeremy and Jenna joined them a second later, and for a moment, their little family forgot everyone else around them. As people began to separate, Damon and Stefan were standing several yards away. Alaric was giving the family space, and Bonnie and Caroline were waiting for them.

She didn’t want to lose anyone else. She wasn’t sure if they could handle it. The only thing that Ellie could pray for now is that Klaus was dead and this was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I just wanted to take a moment and thank you guys for over 300 Kudos and over 10K reads. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this story! Please leave a comment, I love the feedback and interacting with everyone! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> Posted: 11/14/20


	41. As I Lay Dying

**Chapter 41: As I Lay Dying**

_ May 1, 2010 _

The last couple of days had been incredibly hard for Ellie. When Bonnie had revealed that Klaus was still alive, Ellie felt like she’d suffered a blow so violent it took her breath away. Other than Jenna, Stefan was the first person to find out that Ellie had made a deal with Klaus. Elena and Jeremy still didn’t know. She couldn’t bear to tell them. It had taken a near endless stream of calls to get Elijah to finally answer. He’d been reluctant to confirm that he’d in fact spared Klaus. When he’d revealed that Klaus had apparently not buried his siblings at sea, she understood exactly why he’d done what he did. He hadn’t believed her when she told him that she understood. 

Elijah had told her that Klaus was still a wolf, even in the day. It gave her time to have a little bit more time with her family. She knew that her deal with Klaus would be a heavy blow to Elena and Jeremy. Even though it was cowardly, she couldn’t bring herself to tell them face to face what she’d done. So she took a page from John’s book, and wrote them both letters. She wasn’t sure if they’d forgive her for this, but she had to.

He promised he’d tell her when Klaus shifted back, so that she could get back to Alaric’s apartment. Elijah hated that she’d made the promise, but he told her that he would not let her get hurt because Klaus thought she broke her word. Ellie wasn’t sure how much longer she had with everyone, so when Elena and Caroline both insisted that going to watch  _ Gone With The Wind _ was a great idea, she agreed.

The twins had to practically drag Jeremy out of the house, and had cheered when he’d given into them. It had been so so long since the three of them had really spent time together, and it felt so nice. He had complained when Jenna didn’t come with them. He had asked why she got out of the stupid movie day. Ellie had smugly replied because he was the baby and had to do what Ellie said. Elena had laughed when he shoved the two of them away.

“Are we sure this is a good idea?” Jeremy groaned as Ellie pulled him by the hand into the town square. She was somewhat surprised to see the amount of people that were dressed up in period clothing.

“It’s an absolutely amazing idea.” Ellie confirmed.

When Jeremy saw the banner hanging up, displaying the name of the movie, Jeremy scoffed and said, “You brought me to see a girl movie.”

“We had to get out of the house, Jer.” Elena replied. “This is our three hour distraction from reality.”

“Is that what we’re doing? Pretending like our lives aren’t screwed?” Jeremy asked.

“We need to do this, ok? Breathe, eat, sleep, wake up, and do it all over again until one day, it’s just not as hard anymore.” Elena replied as she and Jeremy unfolded the blanket to lay on the grass.

The tension between the siblings was a touch too heavy for Ellie’s liking, so she added, “Plus, watching Caroline react to the movie is probably better than the movie on it’s own. So if you get bored, just watch Caroline. That’s what I do.” Ellie paused before warning him. “But don’t tell her I said that. This movie is like her religion.”

“Hey! There you guys are!” Caroline said excitedly as she approached holding two baskets. “Who’s hungry?” She asked as she set the baskets down.

“Are we really doing this?” Jeremy asked again as he made a face.

“Yes, we are really doing this.” Caroline replied immediately. “We are going to take a page from Scarlett. We made it through the war. I know you guys went through hell, and my mom knows I am a vampire, so basically, it’s like Atlanta has burned. And yet, in spite of everything, we persevere.” Caroline said with a dramatic raising of her fist.

Ellie gave him an over dramatic glare as she tacked on, “Plus, if you keep being grumpy, I can and will magically tie your shoelaces together and watch you face plant.”

Jeremy couldn’t help but laugh as he dropped down next to Caroline. “You’re a witch and the scariest threat you can come up with is tying my shoelaces together?”

She rolled her eyes and confirmed, “I could do much worse, but I’d hate to mess up that darling little face.”

He made a face at her before smiling. “Alright, what are we eating?”

“Something good.” Caroline promised as Elena tossed Jeremy a wrapped up sandwich.

As Caroline started unpacking the food, Ellie pulled out her phone to check and see if she had any messages. To her surprise, she had several missed calls from Stefan. She spared a glance at Elena, but Elena didn’t seem aware that Stefan had tried to reach her. “Uh, hang on, I have a missed call.” Ellie said as she pushed herself off of the ground and pressed on the dial button to ring him back. She walked a bit away from the group as the call finally connected. “Stefan?” She said softly. She really didn’t want Caroline to overhear, in case it was about Klaus. As cowardly as it was, Stefan was really the only one that knew other than Jenna.

_ “Ellie, hey.” _ Stefan replied.

“I just saw the missed calls, is something going on?” Ellie asked worriedly as she glanced at her family.

_ “I just needed some witch help, but Bonnie agreed to help me.” _ Stefan informed her.

She frowned. “Witch help with what? What’s going on?”

He didn’t answer right away, but eventually he said,  _ “I needed to talk to Emily Bennett. Bonnie’s going to help me. Are you with Elena right now?” _

“Yeah, I am. We’re at the town square to watch  _ Gone With The Wind.  _ Do you want me to put her on?”

_ “No, no, I just wanted to know where she was. If we manage to get in contact with Emily, I’m probably going to swing by to tell Elena what’s going on.” _ Stefan replied.

“So something is going on?” She deduced.

He sighed on the other end of the line before replying,  _ “Yeah, it’s complicated but I’ll tell you and Elena as soon as I figure something out. Just, please stay with Elena until then.” _

She knew she should probably tell him that she would have to leave as soon as Elijah sent her a message, but whatever was going on seemed to really be stressing Stefan out. Instead, she replied, “Yeah, of course. Stay safe, Stefan.”

Once Stefan replied to the sentiment, he hung up the phone and she returned to the others. Caroline smiled at her brightly as she passed the other girl a cookie that she’d made. “Who was it?” Caroline asked curiously as she took a sip of water.

Her genuine expression was more than enough confirmation that the other girl hadn’t heard anything. “It was just Jenna, she just wanted to make sure that we’d locked the door on our way out.” Ellie lied. The lie felt heavy on her tongue, but she brushed it aside. Something was going on, something important enough for Stefan to reach out to both her and Bonnie for help. Stefan had never reached out to Ellie for help first, and she couldn’t imagine that he would do it lightly. Not right after John had died.

But he promised that he would tell them what was going on as soon as he talked to Emily. She was well aware that the ghost had issues with Stefan and Damon from what had happened when they were human and she was alive. So she didn’t think that it was going to go flawlessly, but she hoped it did.

* * *

It was sometime later when Ellie finally spotted Stefan approaching them. He was smiling, but Ellie knew from the way he’d sounded earlier that something was wrong. “Hey.” He greeted as he stopped at their blanket.

“Hey.” Elena replied as she and Caroline smiled up at him. “Look who couldn’t resist an epic romance.” She teased playfully.

Stefan crouched down to Elena’s level and asked, “Will you come take a walk with me?” 

Elena cocked her head to the side, looking at him curiously. “Yeah, sure.” She agreed and allowed him to pull her to her feet. “I’ll be right back guys.”

Caroline and Ellie watched as they walked away. “I wonder what that’s all about.” Caroline commented and she casually tucked her hair behind her ear as she tried to listen in on their conversation. “There’s too many conversations going on, I can’t hear them.” She sighed in defeat. The sun would be setting soon, and just as Ellie started to wonder if Klaus was going to spend yet another night as a wolf, her phone vibrated with an incoming text.

_ We are headed to Alaric’s. Do not let him beat you there. _

Ellie jolted as the anxiety settled back in. “I have to go.” Ellie told them suddenly as she stood.

“What? The movie’s gonna start soon.” Caroline protested.

“Hey! You don’t get to bail. If I’m watching the chick flick, you’re watching the chick flick.” Jeremy added.

She sighed as she looked at her brother and best friend. She had to come up with something fast. “I left the straightener plugged in next to the hand towel. The last thing we need is the house catching on fire because I did something stupid.” Ellie lied. If she told them where she was going, they’d try and stop her.

“Are you sure you left it on?” Caroline asked.

“Yeah. I’ll be back soon, I just have to go unplug it.” She hated how easy the lies came.

Caroline frowned but nodded. “Ok. Hopefully you make it back before the movie starts.”

“I’ll see you guys later.” Another lie. She stood, and walked towards Stefan as Elena walked away from him. “What’s going on?”

Stefan looked at her and sighed heavily. “When you and Damon rescued Caroline and Tyler, Tyler accidentally nipped him.”

That was not what she was expecting. “He what?” It made sense suddenly, why Stefan had been desperate to reach Emily. He was looking for a solution. “Did Emily give you what you were looking for?” She didn’t like Damon, really at all, but he was Stefan’s brother and she liked Stefan. 

“They didn’t want to give us help, but they gave Bonnie a name.” Stefan explained. “Klaus.”

Ellie immediately understood his plan. She’d done the exact same thing for Jenna. “You’re going to make a deal.”

He nodded. “If I can find Klaus.”

“You’re in luck. I’m headed to Alaric’s now. Klaus and Elijah are on their way and I have to beat them there.” Ellie replied and she tugged him along after her as she headed to her car.

“You’ve been in contact with Elijah?” Stefan asked as he followed her.

They slid into their seats as she nodded. “He was trying to give me as much time as possible with my family.” When she noticed his expression, which was darker than she was used to from him, she said, “He did the same thing we’re trying to do, protect our family.”

“He screwed us over.” Stefan shot back.

“He just wanted to save his family.” Ellie replied.

“And now you’re stuck with Klaus.” He reminded her.

“I know that Stefan.” She groaned as she tried to rub her headache away. “But unless you know for a fact that you would have made a decision other than what he made in his position, how are you one to judge?” She understood why he was angry, but she also understood Elijah. If she thought that Elena had killed Jeremy, and then discovered that there was a chance to save him, even if it meant betraying someone else, she’d do it. Family comes first. Both she and Stefan understood that.

If Stefan hadn’t cared about Damon as much as he did, he wouldn’t be doing everything in his power to save his dying brother. Even after Damon killed his best friend and who knew how many more awful things Damon had done to Stefan, Stefan was still willing to risk it because he loved him. She respected Stefan for it. Even though she kind of hated Damon and wasn’t sure she’d be all torn up about it if Damon were to die, she would help Stefan save him if she could. She was speeding slightly, worried that Klaus would somehow beat her there. “Are you ok?” Stefan asked her.

He was aware that other than Jenna, he seemed to be the only one that knew about the deal she’d made to save her aunt. Stefan knew they hadn’t spent much time together, but he was worried about what was going to happen to her. “Not in the slightest.” She replied honestly. There was no use in lying to him, and it wasn’t like he could stop her from going. “But I’ve made my bed and now I have to lie in it.”

The rest of the ride passed by in silence, and Stefan could hear the erratic beating of her heart. She was terrified, but they knew if he tried to help her, a lot of people would probably end up dead. When they arrived, they quickly made their way upstairs to Alaric’s apartment. It was unlocked, and Stefan made sure to go in first. “Hello, Katherine.” He greeted her as they entered. Luckily, Klaus and Elijah hadn’t made it back yet.

“Two days, I’ve been waiting.” Katherine said impatiently as she stood up. “I’m supposed to be free of Klaus’ compulsion by now.” Ellie felt a rush of guilt as she realized that she hadn’t told Katherine that Klaus hadn’t died. “He’s supposed to be dead.”

“We ran into complications.” Stefan informed her.

“Complications?” Katherine asked.

“Doesn’t really matter. I just need to find him.” Stefan replied as he stepped closer to her. “Do you have any idea where he might be?”

In an instant, Katherine had pulled them both farther away from the door. Ellie was somewhat amused to see the way Katherine had pushed up against Stefan, holding a finger up to her lips to silence them. “Klaus, you’re back.” Katherine said without looking away from Stefan. The three of them stepped into view. “Look who decided to come for a visit.” Katherine said.

Ellie felt both a rush of relief at seeing Elijah, and a ball of panic forming at the sight of Klaus. “You just keep popping up, don’t you?” Klaus asked Stefan with an amused smile as Elijah closed the door. “Good thing you’ve kept your word, love, I would have hated to kill all your friends and family for acting recklessly. Katerina remembers what that’s like, don’t you Katerina?”

She tensed at the dig towards Katherine and as subtly as she could, placed a reassuring hand against Katherine’s back, out of sight of the men in the room. “I need your help.” Stefan confessed. “For my brother.”

“Well, whatever it is, he’s gonna have to wait a tick. You see I have an obligation to my brother that requires my immediate attention.” Klaus said and Ellie dropped her hand away from Katherine as he walked towards them.

“You understand how important family is, or you wouldn’t be here.” Elijah said as he walked towards Stefan. “My brother gave me his word that he would reunite me with my own.”

“And so I shall.” Klaus said from behind Elijah. When had he gotten behind Elijah? 

Elijah yelled as the dagger plunged deep into his heart, and Ellie couldn’t stop the panicked scream that tore from her throat. “Elijah!” Katherine held her back from going towards the brothers, and even Stefan threw out a hand in warning. Ellie could hear the blood rushing in her ears as she watched Elijah’s skin turn that same unnatural grey he’d been before.

He dropped to the ground, blood staining his shirt and the next thing she knew, Klaus had Stefan pinned to the wall with a hand around his throat. “Now, what am I gonna do with you?” It was another split second later that Klaus had plunged a piece of wood into Stefan’s chest. Katherine’s hand shook slightly but she pulled Ellie farther away from the two men until they were practically hidden away from their line of sight. “Do you feel that?” Klaus asked as Stefan groaned in pain. “It’s scraping against your heart. The slightest little movement, and you’re dead.”

“He’s just trying to help his brother.” Katherine said softly, tentatively, as if she were afraid to test the waters of what she was allowed to say.

“The witches said you had a cure.” Stefan groaned. He pulled himself upright enough to stare at Klaus. “Make me a deal. Just give me the cure, and I’ll do whatever you want.” Klaus ripped out the wood, but Katherine refused to let Ellie go to Stefan as he collapsed to the ground.

“Trouble is I don’t know if you’d be any good to me.” Klaus said casually, as if his brother weren’t lying dead on the floor. “The way you are now. You are just shy of useless.” With the way Katherine had a grip on Ellie, she knew the vampire was absolutely scared out of her mind. It was clear to Ellie that Katherine wanted to help Stefan, but she didn’t want to die either. The two of them watched as Klaus poured the contents of a blood bag into a whiskey glass and he strolled over and knelt at Stefan’s height. “I heard about this one vampire, crazy bloke, always on and off the wagon for decades. When he was off, he was magnificent. 1917, he went into Monterey, and wiped out an entire migrant village. A true Ripper. Sound familiar?”

Stefan looked ashamed. “I haven’t been that way in a very long time.”

“Well, that’s the vampire I can make a deal with.” Klaus replied. “That is the kind of talent that I can use when I leave this town.” As Stefan managed to stand, Klaus held out a hand. “Katerina, come here.” She and Ellie moved together, and Ellie watched nervously as Katherine put her hand in Klaus’. 

Ellie flinched when he sunk his fangs into Katherine’s wrist and her hands flew up to try and free Katherine. “No, no!” Katherine cried as he finally released her. She just kept repeating no to herself as she stared in horror at the bite on her wrist. Before the two girls could really start to panic, Klaus bit into his own wrist and shoved the bloody wrist into Katherine’s mouth. She had no choice but to drink and when he pulled away she wiped her mouth, but her breathing started to slow as the wound healed.

“You want your cure?” Klaus asked. “There it is.”

“Your blood is the cure.” Stefan said as Klaus wiped his mouth.

“Gotta love Mother Nature.” Klaus said sarcastically. “Now, let’s talk, you and I.” Katherine led her to go sit on the couch as the two men stood at the counter. Klaus dragged a dagger across his palm, the blood spilling into a small bottle. “There it is.” Klaus finally said once the bottle was filled enough. “You want to save your brother? How bout a decade long bender? You know I have big plans for you when we leave this town.”

“I’m not like that anymore.” Stefan denied.

“Well that’s too bad.” Klaus said. “You would have made a hell of a wingman.”

Klaus started to pour the blood down the drain and Stefan quickly said, “Wait.”

“Now that’s more like it.” Klaus said smugly. “I want you to join me for a drink.” He slid Stefan a blood bag and Ellie shared a worried look with Katherine. Why did Klaus want Stefan to lose it so badly? Stefan ripped off the cap and took a sip when Klaus added, “Finish it. All of it.” When Stefan didn’t immediately comply, Klaus explained, “You do everything I say, and I save your brother. That’s the deal.” Stefan hesitated for just a moment before downing the rest of the blood bag. Once it was gone, Klaus slid him another. “Again.”

* * *

Ellie wasn’t sure how long she’d sat with Katherine on that couch, as silently as they could, watching Klaus force Stefan to drink blood bag after blood bag. Stefan was slowly starting to look more and more unhinged, almost animalistic as he forced himself to keep drinking. Klaus, on the other hand, looked like he was having the time of his life. “You’re very cooperative.” Klaus said smugly. “It’s almost as if you’re enjoying it.”

Stefan’s face was smeared with blood and there was a small pool of spilt blood around the empty blood bags. “No more.” Stefan insisted. “Not until you give me the cure.”

“Not until we make a deal.” Klaus replied. “It’s your choice, Stefan. You can either remain here living your life in Mystic Falls, or you can embrace what you truly are. Leave town with me and the lovely Ellie, and save your brother’s life.” Stefan looked dazed, enough so that Ellie was really starting to get worried, but Katherine had yet to ease up on the grip she had on Ellie’s arm. Stefan ripped into the blood bag Klaus was offering, and Ellie just knew Klaus was pleased. “That’s the spirit.” He stood and Katherine finally released Ellie. “Sweetheart…” He grabbed the bottle of his blood and then pulled Katherine to her feet with a hand around her throat. “Take this over to Damon and come right back.”

Ellie’s heart jumped in her chest. He was giving Katherine permission to leave? “You want me to leave?” Katherine asked carefully.

Stefan suddenly looked aware of everything as he focused on what Klaus was saying. “No.” Stefan pleaded.

“Yes.” Klaus confirmed. Ellie could see the excitement Katherine was trying to hide. She was free. “And if I were you…” Katherine had snatched the blood bottle and disappeared. “I’d hurry.” Klaus said to the space Katherine had been occupying a moment before.

“She’ll never take it to him.” Stefan said desperately, but Klaus just smirked and shrugged. “She’ll never take it to him.” The defeat in Stefan’s voice was painful for Ellie to hear.

Ellie actually had faith that Katherine would in fact take the cure to Damon. Katherine must have cared about Damon at some point to turn him. Even if she didn’t, Ellie saw the way Katherine reacted while Stefan was being forced to drink. Katherine had hated it, but had been too scared to intervene. If Katherine cared about Stefan at all, which Ellie thought she did, she wouldn’t let him go through all of this for nothing. “Well, I suppose it’s time to get this show on the road.” Klaus said casually as he pulled a phone out of his pocket, sending a message to someone. 

“Where are we going?” Ellie asked quietly as her focus switched between a blood covered Stefan, and Elijah who was so grey and still it made her stomach hurt.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Klaus replied. “Well, I don’t suppose either of you have anything to pack, so let’s be on our way.” He hoisted Elijah over his shoulder like it was nothing, and Ellie flinched when she saw the way Elijah’s head dropped back. “Come along.”

Ellie and Stefan walked a few feet behind Klaus as they made their way out to a very nice car. Klaus deposited Elijah into the trunk, and Stefan mercifully took the passenger’s seat so that Ellie wouldn’t have to sit next to Klaus. She wasn’t sure where they were going, but they didn’t seem to be headed out of Mystic Falls yet. When they arrived at a storage unit, Ellie frowned but said nothing as she and Stefan followed Klaus inside. “Are you ok?” Ellie mouthed to Stefan.

He looked rough, but he nodded back at her. She didn’t call him out for not believing him. When they came across two unfamiliar men, Stefan subtly placed himself in front of her, but the men didn’t say anything to them. When they saw Klaus, they walked away and came back with a casket on a rolling cart. Ellie felt sick as she watched Klaus place Elijah inside. Oddly enough, he was rather gentle as he situated his brother in it. “I suppose, brother, you’ve been reunited with our family.” Klaus said and Ellie looked up to see more caskets carefully placed inside the storage unit. “Put him with the others. We’re leaving town tonight.” Stefan’s phone vibrated and Klaus asked, “So, did Katerina make it in time?”

“You won’t be seeing her again, you know.” Stefan told him. 

“Because she’s on vervain?” Klaus asked. Ellie’s eyes widened. He had known? “I’ve been around a long time, Stefan. I rarely get played for a fool. Besides, she won’t get far. You’ll help me see to that.”

Stefan stepped forward. “What is it you really want from me?”

Ellie stepped behind him and grabbed his arm in warning. “Stefan.” She said softly. She wouldn’t be alright if she watched him get killed or worse.

Klaus, thankfully, didn’t look angry. Instead he looked a bit amused. “All will be explained in time, once we leave this tragic little town.”

“Then are we done here?” Stefan asked. The tension between the two men was palpable and it made Ellie more than a little nervous. “Can we go?”

“Not quite. You see, I have a gift for you. Come here, sweetheart.” Klaus called and a terrified looking girl came from around the corner. “Don’t be afraid.” Ellie’s heart was pounding violently in her chest. There was no way this girl was getting out of this without getting hurt. “See, I wanna make sure you honor our deal. That you’ll be of use to me.” Klaus bit into the girl’s neck and the girl cried out in pain. “I could have compelled her to behave, but a real ripper enjoys the hunt.”

He released her and she took off running, screaming loudly. Ellie felt sick, and if she were honest, Stefan looked like he wasn’t doing too hot either. She knew he didn’t want to hurt the girl, but he didn’t have a choice. It was like something in Stefan snapped and Ellie was startled to see him almost smile before he disappeared. “He’s going to kill her?” Ellie asked meekly.

“Yes.” Klaus told her and dragged her along in the direction the girl had run. They came across Stefan as the girl collapsed. When Stefan looked up at them, Klaus simply told them, “Now we can go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the end of season two! Do you think Ellie will be able to handle a summer of werewolf hunting with Stefan and Klaus? As always, please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> Posted: 11/21/20


	42. The Birthday

**Chapter 42: The Birthday**

_ Summer 2010 _

The past couple of months had been the strangest months of her life. She’d been with Stefan and Klaus as the latter had been desperately searching for a wolf pack to turn. Idly she thought that maybe if he wanted a wolf pack so badly, vampires shouldn’t have killed so many of the wolves. They’d been on the hunt for a particular wolf, for reasons Ellie didn’t understand. 

The summer had been hard for her. There were times where Stefan almost seemed to really slip into a Ripper’s rage, and she’d felt sick on more than one occasion as she had no choice but to listen as people kept dying. But other times she and Stefan, in the rare moments where they weren’t with Klaus, opened up. Stefan had become a lifeline during all of this, and she was fairly sure she’d become a lifeline for him too.

She and Stefan had grown closer than she’d ever expected to during the summer. But she shouldn’t have been surprised, he was a good person and they were both stuck. In the times where things started to get overwhelming for her, particularly around the potential death and torture of innocent people, Stefan had learned her tells. They’d also developed signals like certain touches and looks that let him know she needed help. There were also things that Ellie developed to try and reassure Stefan that he wasn’t alone when he too got overwhelmed.

Thankfully, surprisingly, when it got too much for Ellie, Klaus had never really forced her to stay and watch something that would traumatize her. He’d warn her not to try and run, but he never forced her to watch the murders, even if she couldn’t get far enough away so that she didn’t have to hear it.

In all honesty, Klaus hadn’t really forced her to do anything. He focused mostly on getting Stefan to turn back into the Ripper. Stefan had killed so many people that Ellie was losing track. Klaus, when he and Stefan weren’t killing people, wasn’t entirely awful company. He made witty jokes and had a wicked sense of humor. But he had anger issues and his mood could switch on a dime. He could go from hot to cold in an instant.

Klaus never spoke about his family, though Ellie thought about Elijah constantly. He was nearby, sometimes close enough that she could sense him and the others in the caskets. But there was no way in hell she was going to get a chance to undagger Elijah. She just hoped he would forgive her for not being able to help him. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but she was afraid of who Klaus would hurt if she did something he didn’t like.

She’d never had this kind of fear with Elijah, but despite it, she still didn’t blame him for the decision he’d made. Klaus had been truthful that he hadn’t dropped them into the ocean if the caskets were anything to go by. It frustrated Elena beyond belief that she was still trying to find the brother in Klaus that Elijah had loved as much as he had. Sometimes she could see it too, at least she thought she did.

But at the current moment, she didn’t. Currently, she was walking with Klaus down a dirt road towards a large house. It was a beautiful white house with a tree swing out in the yard. Honestly, it looked like it could be part of a fairytale if it was a little more cleaned up. “Rudy.” A woman called as she exited the house. She whistled sharply, unaware of their approach. “Rudy! Come on! It’s too hot to make me come looking for you.” 

She was right. The air was still hot from the summer sun and despite it being well into the night, Ellie could feel sweat rolling down her neck. In an instant, they stood before the young woman, who jerked back as soon as she realized she wasn’t alone. “I am so sorry.” Klaus apologized in a disturbingly American accent. It didn’t sound right to Ellie in the slightest. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Can I help you?” The girl asked him suspiciously.

“Yeah, my uh, car ran out of gas a couple miles back. My girlfriend and I have been walking forever, it feels like. Yours is the first house we’ve come to, so I was hoping we could use your phone.” Klaus said, still in that oddly American accent.

The woman looked over to Ellie. “Don’t you guys have cell phones?”

Ellie faked an embarrassed smile as she pulled her dead phone out of her pocket. “It died a while back. We forgot to charge them before we left.” Klaus had insisted that Ellie coming along with him might make the woman easier to convince. In this case, she hadn’t really had another choice. If she agreed to do small things like talking to this woman, it would probably help get her out of a situation where she really wasn’t comfortable with what was going on.

While the woman did, in fact, seem far more comfortable with Ellie, the woman had enough sense to be wary of Klaus. The woman seemed to step slightly farther away from Klaus, and a touch closer to Ellie as Klaus said, “Look, I promise I’m not a serial killer. I just want to use your phone.”

“Sure.” The woman finally agreed with a small smile. If she hadn’t been looking, Ellie would have shot Klaus a look. Him saying he wasn’t a serial killer and just his whole vibe would have had Ellie getting the hell out of dodge if she’d been the other girl.

She started to turn towards her house when Klaus curiously asked, “So… I can come in?”

“No.” The woman said immediately. If Klaus had been anyone else, maybe she would have been safe. She had good instincts. “I’ll get the phone and I’ll bring it out to you.”

Klaus’ face shifted immediately, his easy smile replaced with a dark look. “I thought you country folk were supposed to be more trusting.” He commented, his real accent replacing the fake American one, and suddenly he seemed far more dangerous than he had before.

“I’m from Florida.” The girl sassed back. She was braver than Ellie was, for now.

“Well, that explains it.” Klaus shot back. In an instant, he had a hand around her throat, forcing her to look up at him. “Now show me a little southern hospitality, sweet pea.” He said as he compelled her. “Now, you’re going to invite me into your darling little house, aren’t you?” His voice was full of threats of what would happen if she didn’t do what he wanted.

“P-please come in.” She stuttered and Ellie’s heart dropped to her stomach, this woman didn’t deserve her fate.

Ellie gripped the woman’s hand, trying desperately to convey her guilt at the part she played in what was about to happen. The woman was terrified at this point, and held onto Ellie's hand fearfully. “I bet you a hundred dollars that dog ran off to a house with air conditioning.” The second woman only had one last moment of blissful ignorance before she turned to see her friend shaking in Klaus’ hold. “What’s going on?” She asked her friend.

“Please don’t be alarmed.” Klaus told her. “I’m told Ray Sutton lives here.”

“He’s almost never here.” She informed him, and Ellie could see the tension in the woman’s shoulders as she worried for the safety of her friends. “He’s on the road mostly.”

Klaus pushed the blonde girl forward to keep in step with him. “But I expect he makes it home… once a month.” He replied and Ellie’s heart ached at the blonde’s tear filled eyes. The black woman’s focus darted to her friend in realization. “That’s what I thought. Where is he now? If I have to make you tell me, it’s going to be infinitely more painful for you.”

“Please do what he says.” Ellie spoke suddenly and the woman looked at her for the first time. “He means it. It’ll be so much worse if you try and fight.” The woman seemed to understand the danger she was currently faced with, and promptly made the wrong decision. She turned and ran from the kitchen and Ellie swallowed hard. “She shouldn’t have done that.”

Klaus was smiling at her. “No, but I can’t say I’m not glad that she did.” He said wickedly. He didn’t run after her, and Ellie knew that Stefan was waiting at the front door for the woman. She screamed out a moment later. “Come along.” He said as she pulled the blonde and Ellie followed behind them. “I love it when they run.” He told Stefan in amusement.

The black woman finally understood that she had no choice, and closed her eyes as she confessed, “He’s in Tulley. It’s near the border. A bar called Southern Comfort. It’s off Highway 41.”

Both of the women were crying now, and Ellie was trying hard not to do the same. “Thank you, my love.” He told her calmly. He turned to the shaking blonde. “Now, may my friend come in your home?” Klaus questioned, though they all knew it wasn’t really a question.

“Yes.” The blonde agreed and the screen door creaked as he opened it.

Stefan wouldn’t look at Ellie, and she knew it was because of what he was about to do. He never could look at her right before. “Kill this one quickly.” Klaus said as he pushed the blonde forward. “Make that one suffer.” He said as he glanced at the other woman, frozen in place by the door. “We’ll be in the car. Let’s go, love.”

As Ellie passed by Stefan, she gave his hand a small squeeze. Whether it was for his comfort or for her own, she wasn’t sure. As she and Klaus walked out of the front door, Ellie picked up the pace when she heard the blonde girl begging Stefan to not hurt them. She had made it back to the tree swing by the time the first screams rang out into the night. “Oh god.” Ellie cried as she tried to get away from the sound as fast as she could.

“What’s the rush, love?” Klaus asked casually as if those girls weren’t screaming for their lives, but there was no one around to help them.

Ellie felt like she was going to throw up. “We didn’t have to kill them.” Ellie insisted.

“Well, we can’t have them warning him that we’re coming now can we?” Klaus asked as they slid into the car. She was grateful that he didn’t stop her from turning the music up as loudly as she could to try and drown out the noise.

“Someone’s going to find their bodies eventually. All you’re doing is leaving a trail for anyone that’s looking.” Ellie huffed as she focused on the bass of a song she didn’t know. “You don’t have to kill everyone you come across.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Klaus scoffed.

She gave him a look of disbelief. “Is that what you would have thought when you were human?” She asked him. It was so much better to focus on him than those poor women.

“I haven’t been human in a very long time.” Klaus replied.

“Just because you haven’t been human in a thousand years doesn’t mean you have to be heartless.” Ellie told him. “It’s one thing if the person has done something to you, but these people have done absolutely nothing wrong.”

“You act as if you’ve never seen my brother kill. Or those Salvatores you and your sister seemed to be so fond of.” Klaus reminded her.

Ellie tensed slightly at the mentions of Elijah and Elena. “First, that’s stupid to be like, oh well they did it so its ok if I do it.” She sassed. “Second, I kind of hate Damon. He killed my brother because he was having a little temper tantrum and even Stefan has made mistakes. Just because my sister liked them so much, doesn’t mean that I did.” It was unsettlingly to refer to Elena in the past tense, but she had no other choice. If Klaus were to find out that she and Stefan were lying, there would be hell to pay.

Klaus made an expression displaying his open curiosity. “He killed your brother?”

“Yeah. Among other things.” She huffed. She didn’t want to talk about Damon. The thought of him only ever made her angrier than she already was. The memory of when she first learned what he had done was burned into her brain. She would not soon forget the pain and panic she’d felt over the fact that she’d, at least temporarily, lost her brother. “But you still didn’t answer my question. So I’m gonna assume that, no, you wouldn’t have thought that as a human.”

“Very presumptuous of you.”

“Well, I have reason to be.”

At that, Klaus looked very intrigued. “Oh really? And why is that?” It might have been silly, but she wouldn’t deny the appreciation she felt over him allowing them to have this conversation. It was helping her block out the sound of those women. A small mercy, even though they were in this situation because of him.

Ellie turned to look at him head on. “One of two reasons, at the very least. One, you lied to Elijah and told him you dropped the rest of your siblings in the ocean when you didn’t. In fact, you keep them rather close at all times. Second, Elijah loved you once. You couldn’t be all bad if he’d loved you enough to go through everything involved with breaking that curse.” Ellie told him bluntly.

For a moment, Klaus just stared at her. “I’ve daggered all of my siblings.” He reminded her.

“Which for you guys is like a forced timeout. You didn’t murder them. Although I’m sure they’d probably be royally pissed off at you if they ever get to wake up.” Ellie didn’t think he was one hundred percent evil. She wasn’t sure if it were possible to be totally a monster. In her opinion, if Klaus was completely cruel and uncaring, he would probably enjoy making her watch the murders of those women, but he didn’t. Instead they were sitting out in the car, with the music turned up loud enough it surely had to be uncomfortable with his super hearing, and yet he didn’t make her turn it down.

That wasn’t to dismiss all the awful things he  _ had _ done. And she desperately wanted to undagger Elijah, but she wasn’t going to get the chance. At least, not yet. Even Damon, while she did hate him for the most part, she knew he loved Elena and that was enough to prove that he wasn’t totally a monster. Even Katherine, who was hated by a  _ lot _ of people, Elena especially, wasn’t a monster. 

Katherine was someone who Ellie missed far more than she had ever expected to. She understood why she desperately missed Caroline, they were best friends after all. She easily understood why she missed basically everyone else back home. But she had never expected to miss her vampire double this much. Katherine had clearly made a space for herself in Ellie’s heart without Ellie realizing.

The vampire had a reputation for being cold and vicious, but had been there for Ellie when she broke down. The Bulgarian lullabies that Katherine had sung to her had become a familiar tune with how often Ellie hummed them to herself. Stefan had commented on it once, and hadn’t questioned further when she told him they were lullabies. She never sang them, though she remembered the words. The last thing she needed was Klaus prying as to why she knew Bulgarian lullabies.

Ellie wondered if she was ever going to get to see any of them again. She wondered how they were doing. Surely they were mad at her for not telling them what she’d done. Hopefully, they weren’t too angry with Jenna for keeping her secret. It wasn’t too much longer before Stefan arrived at the car, his mouth still red with blood. “All finished, mate?” Klaus asked cheerily.

“It’s done.” Stefan said, his voice low. He was never in a good state after he killed someone. It was one of the things that helped Ellie remember he was still Stefan, not the Ripper. The remorse of the murders weighed heavily on him. And these deaths were no different.

* * *

They’d been driving for what felt like ages when Ellie finally spotted a place with Southern Comfort displayed in large letters. She was grateful to finally be able to get out and stretch her legs, and she’d had to pee for the last hour and a half. “Wait, do we even know what this Ray Sutton dude looks like?” Ellie asked as she tried to wait patiently for the two of them to get a move on.

“That’s an easy fix, love. But I’m going to need you to do me a small favor.” Klaus said and Ellie felt her blood pressure spike.

He very rarely asked things of her, and every time, she was fearful that he was going to ask her to do something awful. “What do you need?” She asked him carefully.

Stefan was on the other side of Ellie, and she reached towards him out of instinct. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Now don’t give me that look.” Klaus scolded lightly. “It’s nothing bad.”

“Bad in your books and bad in mine are probably two very different things.” Ellie replied.

Klaus scoffed, thankfully looking amused. “When we get inside, I’m going to ask if Ray Sutton is there. Once we know, I’m going to need you to put up a boundary spell around this quaint little establishment so that people may enter, but they may not leave.” Klaus told her.

Her heart eased slightly, but she was still worried. “Why do I need to do that?” Ellie asked.

“Because Stefan and I are going to compel the fine patrons of this place to continue on as though nothing is amiss. So that when Ray Sutton finally makes an appearance, should things turn a bit ugly, no one will interfere.” Klaus explained calmly.

“Only if you won’t hurt innocent bystanders.” Ellie pushed. Klaus was entirely aware of where she stood on harming civilians.

“If Ray tries to run, I can’t exactly let him do that. After all, if I did, all of those deaths would have been for nothing.” Klaus reminded her.

She sighed. “I’m not talking about Ray, I am talking about the people that could get hurt just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.” She pleaded. “Klaus, please.” The only real bargaining chip that Ellie had at the moment was that she was a rare witch that Klaus had use for. Plus, if she refused and he had to call in another one of his witches, he would be wasting precious time to get things prepared for Ray Sutton’s arrival.

“Fine, fine, no  _ innocent bystanders  _ will be hurt.” Klaus said with a roll of his eyes. “Now what do you need to seal the building?”

“Let’s just go in. I can do it inside.” Ellie said and they let her step inside first. She spared a glance around and when Klaus nodded, she muttered quietly, “ _ Phasmatos veras nos ex malom. Terra mora vantis quo incandas per vasa quo errum signos. _ ” She chanted and she felt the surge of magic flare up all around the building. “It’s done.” Ellie assured him. Klaus turned on his heel and tried to exit, only to stumble as her magic pushed him back.

“Well done.” He praised happily. “Now Stefan, let’s get to having a chat with these fine patrons.” Ellie turned to head towards the sign indicating bathrooms when Klaus called to her. “And where do you think you’re going?”

Ellie couldn’t help the face she made. “We’ve been in the car for  _ hours _ Klaus. I have to pee.” She said bluntly. “Or do I have to ask permission?”

Klaus grinned. “Go, go.” He ushered her and she didn’t wait to head towards the bathroom. It didn’t take long for her to make her back to the main room. Stefan and Klaus were chatting with different people around the room and Ellie made her way to the bar. When she spotted the calendar hanging on the wall she froze. “What’s the matter?” Klaus asked curiously as he stopped next to her.

The calendar had days marked off, stopping on June 22nd. “It’s my birthday.” She said quietly as she continued to stare at the calendar. “I’ve never had a birthday without Elena before.” There was a rush of pain at the thought. “I’ve never been without her before.” She and Elena had fought so much before the sacrifice. Ellie had been so angry and hurt. She was still angry and hurt, but now she was mad at herself for wasting the last bit of time she would get with her family.

Klaus, surprisingly, oddly, looked sympathetic. He almost looked like he felt remorseful. “It will get better with time.” He said it like he knew from experience.

“Have you ever lost a sibling?” She questioned curiously. 

An array of emotions rushed across Klaus’ face, too fast for Ellie to catch them, before he schooled his expression back into the familiar smug look he typically had. “Why would you want to talk about something so depressing on your birthday? How old are you today?”

For once, Ellie didn’t pry even though she wanted to, and let him change the subject. “I’m eighteen today.” She supplied. “Can I just get something to eat please? I’m probably going to lose my appetite.” Klaus nodded and Ellie quickly ordered.

* * *

She’d just finished eating as the door opened and a scruffy looking blonde man walked in. “What’s up, Ray?” One of the men called in greeting.

The scruffy looking man, who was apparently the one and only Ray Sutton, waved in greeting. He seemed like a nice man. “Hey, Red. Can I get a beer?” He asked. Klaus had already risen from his seat and started towards Ray.

Ellie squeezed Stefan’s hand, but he wouldn’t look at her. This was probably going to be worse than she thought. “Ray? Ray Sutton?” Klaus asked the man. 

“Who wants to know?” Ray asked as the man he called Red handed him his beer. 

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Klaus said casually, an easy smile on his face. “We started in Florida, Pensacola. I met a young chap there who you worked with before you moved to Memphis. Now he directed me to two lovely young women. And they led me here. To you.”

“I think I’ll be going.” Ray said. He obviously had enough sense to realize Klaus was bad news. Like his friends, it wouldn’t do him much good.

“Not so fast, mate.” Klaus said as he stood, holding Ray in place. “You only just got here. Now your type are very hard to come by.”

Ray tried to walk away but Stefan was in his space, preventing him from leaving. “Yeah, I wouldn’t do that.” Stefan said as she pushed Ray back towards the bar.

“Vampires.” Ray deduced as he looked at the three of them.

“You’re swifty swift, Ray.” Klaus replied. “Yes, my friend here is a vampire.” He gestured towards Stefan. “He’s compelled everyone in the bar, so don’t look to them for any help.” Ray was looking around nervously now. “And my other beautiful companion, well she’s a witch. So even if you were to manage to get to the door, you’d never make it past it. Even I can’t get through that nifty boundary spell of hers. I, however, I’m something else. A different kind of monster. I’ve got some vampire. I’ve got some wolf.”

“You what?” Ray asked in confusion. His voice had grown a touch shaky.

“A hybrid, Ray. I’m both.” Klaus clarified. “You see, I want to create more of me. Now, you being the first werewolf I’ve come across in many a moon, pun intended, Ray, I need you to direct me to your pack. So... where can I find them Ray?”

“You can’t compel me, it won’t work.” Ray said. Ellie spotted Stefan shooting Klaus a look from the corner of her eye, and felt her stomach coil up nervously.

“I need a scotch on the rocks, please.” Stefan asked the bartender politely. He cleared his throat as he pulled out a small pouch. “Tell you what, Ray. We’re gonna play a little drinking game. Something I like to call ‘Truth or Wolfsbane’.”

“Oh, this is gonna be fun, Ray.” Klaus commented.

“I need a drink.” Ellie said, and Klaus didn’t hesitate to order her something strong. Ray shot her a pleading look as she downed her first drink. She tried to not to let her emotions get the better of her as Klaus got her a second. The Original said nothing as she quickly walked from them and took up residence in the farthest corner of the room. The pained sounds Ray was making made her sick.

Red, the bartender, walked over to bring her yet another drink with an easy smile. She longed to be as unaware of the torture the werewolf was enduring as he was. He set down her drink and picked up the drained glasses. “Anything else I can get ya?” He asked.

When Ray let out a particularly pain filled cry, Ellie asked, “Do you have a candle of some sort?”

He made a face but nodded. “Yeah, we keep a few on hand in case of a power outage. How many you need?”

“Just the one please.” Ellie replied and he was off to wherever it was the candles were kept. Given that she’d eaten, it was taking a lot more than usual to get her drunk enough to forget what Ray was going through. “Thank you.” Ellie said as she took the candle. She lit the candle with a wave of her hand and after she poured a bit of salt in her hand, she sprinkled it around the candle. A mutter under her breath later, the sound of Ray’s cries vanished.

The silencing spell was typically meant for privacy, so that people couldn’t hear the conversation between the person who had lit the candle and whoever they were speaking to. However, she managed to invert the effects, giving her the chance to get herself together without hearing the torture that was going on just across the room. 

Ellie wasn’t sure how long it had been when she jerked her head up at the sound of someone’s breathing. “Ellie.” Stefan said softly. “I was calling your name.”

“I have a barrier up.” She confessed. “To drown out all of… that.” 

He took a seat next to her in the booth. “I have to go for a little while.”

She looked up in alarm. “What? Why?” 

“Damon’s closing in on our trail. I have to make it clear to him that he needs to let me go.” Stefan replied. “Klaus was going to take care of it, but I thought I was better suited for it.” He was smart to still mind what he was saying. “Are you going to be ok for a while?”

“I’m more worried about Ray.” Ellie confessed. “But you should go and take care of what you’ve gotta do.” She gave him a significant look. “Be careful.”

“I will be. Maybe you might have more luck convincing Ray to work with us. If he just does what Klaus wants, he’ll stop getting hurt.” Stefan suggested. “Can you drop the boundary spell for me?”

Ellie nodded. “ _ Terra Mora Vantis Quo Incandis, per Vasa Quo Errum Signas. Phasmatos selvus Terra Mora Vantis Quo Incandis, per Vasa Quo Signos. Phasmatos selvus nos ex malom terra mora Vantis Quo Incandis per Vas Quo Errum Signos, Terra Mora Vantis Quo Incandis. _ ” In an instant, she felt a rush as her magic dropped. “It’s down.”

It wasn’t too much longer after Stefan left that Ellie couldn’t stand it anymore. Ray had been unchained from where he’d been turned into a living dart board draped across one of the pool tables. She could see him shaking from fear and pain and it was eating her up inside. With a wave of her hand, the candle went out and the sound came rushing back. “Come on, Ray. I can do this all day. Just tell me where they are.” Klaus was saying as she approached. “Hello, love.”

Ellie didn’t look at him. Her focus was on the poor wolf before her. “Ray.” She said softly as she gently touched his face. He flinched slightly and looked at her with pleading eyes. “Ray, listen to me. Just tell him where they are and it’ll be over. He’s not going to stop until you tell him, not even if it breaks you.”

“I can’t betray them.” Ray said as his eyes filled with tears. “They’re my pack. We’re supposed to protect each other.”

“If he were anyone else you holding out might have worked, Ray. You’ve done such a good job. You have, I promise. But Ray, he’s a thousand years old and he doesn’t care how much it takes to break you. The more you fight the more fun this is for him.” Ellie told him softly as he leaned into the soft touch of her palm. “If you give him what he wants, maybe he’ll let me heal you. I can take the pain away.”

Klaus had been watching her interaction with the wolf with interest. She had no issue with showing this wolf affection and warmth, despite having no reason to care. She seemed genuinely concerned for his safety. Klaus wasn’t stupid, he knew all the deaths cause by his hands and Stefan’s distressed her. The wolf was looking at her like she was a potential safe haven.

The last thing Klaus expected, the absolute last thing he’d seen coming, was a confession tumbling from the wolf. She had done it, she’d gotten the location of the pack. “Brilliant.” Klaus said with pleasure. “Now we’re talking.” He stepped towards them. “Ok, it’s a three step process, Ray. This is step one. I want you to drink from my wrist.”

“I already told you where to find the pack.” Ray said breathlessly. “What more do you want from me?”

“Have you been listening to a word I’ve been saying, Ray? I have great plans for you.” Klaus said as he pointed a knife at Ray’s face. Ellie squeezed his forearm to try and remind him he wasn’t alone. To her surprise, Klaus slit his wrist with ease before forcing his blood into Ray’s mouth. “He’ll thank me for it later.” Klaus said with a laugh. Ray was struggling, but he wasn’t stronger than Klaus and no choice but to swallow the blood. “There we go, atta boy!”

Ellie spotted Stefan as he returned. “What are you going to do now?” Ray asked.

“It’s time for step two, Ray.” Klaus said, and promptly snapped his neck. Ellie flinched away violently. She hadn’t been prepared for it and she had the sudden urge to vomit. “You’re back.” Klaus said as he ignored how sick Ellie suddenly looked. She was grateful for the chance to recover.

“Did you doubt me?”

“Not for a second.” Klaus told him. “I knew you’d pass the test. You still care for your brother; for your old life.”

Ellie was taking shaky breaths as Stefan replied, “Nah. I don’t care about anything anymore.”

“You put on a good show, Stefan. I almost believe you. Let’s hope, for your brother’s sake, he does.” Klaus replied as Ellie made her way over to where Stefan was sitting at the bar. “You never stop caring about family, do you?” He asked and Ellie grasped onto it. On that little confession, whether Klaus realized that it was a confession or not. “But every time you feed, the blood makes it easier to let go.”

She could see that Stefan was struggling. No matter how hard he was trying to fight it, and despite how sick she felt, she couldn’t let him struggle alone. “Are we done here?” Ellie asked. She stepped up to the other side of Stefan, her hand carefully hidden out of Klaus’ view as she took a handful of Stefan’s shirt, trying to give him something to anchor himself back down to.

Klaus was silent for a moment before nodding. “I have a few things to wrap up here, but feel free to take a breather. We’ll leave soon.” Klaus walked off, and Stefan stood abruptly, walking back out the front door.

Ellie waited a few moments, and when neither Stefan or Klaus returned, she turned on her heel and headed after Stefan. He was standing halfway across the parking lot, a phone clutched tightly in his hand. “Stefan?” She called softly as she approached. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him look so vulnerable. “Stefan?” She repeated.

“I called her.” He confessed. Ellie didn’t hesitate to step into his space to hug him. God knew they both needed it. He hugged her back tightly. “She told me she loved me, and that I would be ok.”

“We  _ will _ be ok, Stefan. We have to be. At least we aren’t alone. We have each other.” She reminded him softly. They hadn’t been incredibly close when they were in Mystic Falls, all the secrets and life threatening events hadn’t given them much time to bond. But trauma was a very effective bonding method, and they had plenty of that at this point. They stood there for a moment, and it was enough to solidify that Stefan was still himself. He was trying desperately to be the Ripper enough to please Klaus, but he hadn’t given into the bloodlust.

“We’ll be ok.” Stefan repeated quietly, his head resting on top of hers. “I’m sorry you had such an awful birthday.”

“I lived through the day, so it could’ve been worse.” She replied. When she felt Klaus’ energy approaching, she pulled away. She gave Stefan a small smile. She couldn’t doubt what she told him. They would be ok. They had to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so begins season three!!! Also happy late thanksgiving to those that celebrate it. Important Question!!! Would you guys like for me to post a chapter on Christmas as well as on that Saturday like normal? Christmas is on a Friday so you'd get two chapters kind of back to back. Please leave a comment and let me know if you would like that. As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> Posted: 11/28/20


	43. The Hybrid

**Chapter 43: The Hybrid**

_ June 23, 2010 _

They had been on the road incredibly early to get to the spot where the wolves would be gathering. Ray was still dead, stuffed uncaringly in the trunk. Ellie had glared at Klaus for it, but he’d simply rolled his eyes at her. Now, they were trekking through the woods with Ray slung over Stefan’s shoulders. Klaus, at least, had been considerate enough to let Ellie bring a backpack filled with water and enough food for her to snack on during the day. “Do you even know exactly where you’re going?” She sassed as she used a tree to pull herself forward.

“Oh come now, I thought you were supposed to be athletic. I had worse treks as a human.” Klaus said easily. When he saw her annoyed look, he turned his attention to Stefan. “You ok? Is Ray getting heavy?” He asked somewhat sarcastically.

“I’m fine.” Stefan replied.

“You sure about that?” Klaus replied. “You know we’ve been walking for quite some time now. If you need some water or a little sit-down…” In truth, Ellie would love to take a break. She’d never hiked like this before. But she was stubborn and Klaus was an ass and she refused to show weakness.

Stefan wasn’t impressed either. “You know, I get that we’re, uh, we’re stuck together, but if we could maybe just skip the chit chat, it’d be great.” Stefan retorted.

“So much brooding.” Klaus stated. “Your self-loathing is suffocating you, my friend.”

“Maybe it’s cause I’m a little tired of hunting werewolves.” Stefan replied without missing a beat. “We’ve only been at it all summer.”

“Thanks to our pal Ray, we found ourselves a pack.” Klaus said as they spotted a large group of people with tents and other camping equipment. They were setting up and had yet to notice the intruders. “There.”

As they made their way into the camp, the wolves seemed to finally spot their scents. Several people stopped what they were doing at once, rising as they locked onto them. Whispers broke out in the group as they spotted Ray dangling from Stefan’s shoulders. When Stefan lowered Ray onto the ground, one of the women dashed forward. “Ray! Oh my god! What’s going on?” She asked as a man rushed to her side at the sight of Ray’s blood covered shirt. “Who are you?” She asked Stefan, focusing on him undoubtedly because he’d been the one holding Ray.

“The important question is who am I.” Klaus said as he stepped forward. “Please forgive the intrusion. My name is Klaus.”

The woman stood warily and the man tried to pull her behind him. “You’re the hybrid.” She deduced.

“You’ve heard of me. Fantastic.” Klaus said, clearly pleased with that turn of events. All of the wolves were on edge as Klaus casually sat on a large rock. Stefan sat down next to him. He shot Ellie a look, clearly he was aware that she was worn out from the trek and nodded to sit next to him to rest. She hadn’t wanted to seem as rude as Klaus, but she was tired and gave in.

“What do you want?” The man asked. Ellie could practically feel Stefan switching himself to the Ripper he was pretending to be as she drank heavily from her water.

Klaus took no offense to the man’s tone as he replied, “It’s fascinating, actually… a werewolf who isn’t beholden to the moon, a vampire who doesn’t burn in the sun. A true hybrid.” The woman who had originally rushed to Ray had started to shake where she stood. Obviously, word of Klaus had traveled quickly. Ray let out a gasp as his body contorted, it reminded Ellie of how Elijah had reacted when she’d undaggered him. “Excellent timing, Ray. Very dramatic.”

“What’s happening to me?” Ray gasped.

“Stefan.”

He rose from his spot and scanned the crowd. “Are any of you human?” Stefan asked, and instinctively, Ellie reached out with her magic, feeling for a human. “Your friend here, he needs human blood to complete his transition to vampire. If he doesn’t get it, he will die.”

“Doesn’t take much, just a sip.” Klaus said as he also stood. “Anyone? A boyfriend, a girlfriend, along for the ride?” When no one answered, he turned to Ellie. “Well?” It would have been harder to spot had they been mixed in with the crowd where she couldn’t count heads, but the man that had rushed over was right there, obvious and in the open. She reluctantly nodded towards him. “You.”

Klaus had bitten into the man’s arm and slung him towards Stefan before the woman could react. “No!” She screamed as the man was forced to the ground by Stefan. To Ellie’s horror, Klaus shoved his hand into the woman’s neck to keep her in place.

Ellie was on her feet in an instant as she watched the scene play out before her. “If you don’t drink it Ray, I will. Problem is I don’t know how to stop.” Stefan warned him.

“It’s the new order, sweetheart. You join us, or you die.” Klaus told her.

“I’d rather die than be a vampire.” She hissed.

“Wrong choice.” Klaus replied, biting into his wrist and then forcing her to drink. “Darling, make sure none of them try to run.” Klaus called over his shoulder to her. It didn’t seem necessary. All of them were frozen with fear for their friends. They were loyal, werewolves always seemed to be awfully loyal to one another. They would not abandon their pack. Ray’s desperation to protect them all, even at his own expense, was proof enough of that. “She’ll thank me for that later.” Once the woman dropped to the ground, he turned to the others, “Ok, who’s next?”

Ray had drunk heavily from the man before pulling away. Ellie, along with the pack, seemed to be frozen as Klaus forced them all to drink before snapping everyone’s neck. As it turned out, the only human among the bunch was the man Ellie had pointed out. “Ray, Ray come here.” Ellie said as she offered him her hands to help him up. He was shaking as he took them. “Come sit down here.” Once he was sitting, she looked over him. “Are you ok?”

He looked a little dazed as he focused on her. “I don’t know. I don’t feel too good.” He confessed. “Why are you with them?” He whispered as he shot a fearful glance at Klaus.

She gave him a sad little smile as she admitted, “I traded my life for someone I love. Klaus spared them only because I agreed to come with him. I had no other choice.” She brushed his hair away from his face.

“Why is he doing this to us?”

“He wants to make more like himself. He’s the only one of his kind. But it shouldn’t be so bad, even if you do have to work for him. Ray you won’t have to shift anymore.” She told him optimistically.

Ray’s attention flickered back to her. “No more shifting?”

“Not if you don’t want to. Klaus, he can control it. He can shift whenever he wants, day or night, full moon or not. And if he can do that, you and your pack never have to go through that pain again if you don’t want to.” She told him.

“Was it like this for him?” He asked.

Ellie gave him an apologetic shrug. “I’m sorry, Ray. I wasn’t there when he turned for the first time. I don’t know what it was like for him other than he could remember everything and stayed a wolf for a couple days. And maybe it’s different because his wolf side was activated after he was turned into a vampire. I don’t have the answers. I'm so sorry.”

“There.” Klaus said as he fed his blood to the human of the pack. “Good as new. Now you relax, ok, mate? We’re gonna need you when the rest of them wake up.”

“They’re dead.” Ray said as he looked around at his pack. “They’re all dead.”

“Well, he’s through his transition.” Klaus commented as he took in Ray’s appearance. Ray was shaking as he wrapped his arms around his torso trying to warm up. “He should be feeling better soon.” Ellie noted that he didn’t sound malicious for once. He actually wanted Ray to feel better.

Ray almost looked to be in tears as he tried to calm his breathing. “So is this your master plan?” Stefan asked sarcastically. “Build an army of hybrid slaves?”

“No, not slaves.” Klaus corrected immediately, if Ellie didn’t know any better, she’d think he’d taken offense at the suggestion. “Soldiers, comrades.”

“For what war, might I ask?” Stefan almost seemed amused.

“Oh, you don’t arm yourself after war has been declared, Stefan. You build your army so big that no one ever dares to pick the fight.”

“What makes you so sure that they’ll be loyal?”

Klaus grinned. “Well, it’s not difficult to be loyal when you’re on the winning team. That’s something you’ll learn once you shake off that horribly depressive chip off your shoulder.”

Stefan actually laughed at that. “That’s why you’re, uh, you’re keeping me around? To witness my attitude adjustment?”

Ellie looked over at Ray in alarm as blood started to seep from his eyes. “Klaus.” She called as she reached out and tugged on his hand for his attention. “Something’s wrong.”

“You’ll know why I’m keeping you around when I’ve decided that I want you to know.” Klaus replied as he tilted Ray’s face up to inspect whatever was happening to him. “You’re right, something is wrong.” He confirmed.

Ellie stood and went over to a tent one of the wolves had set up, snatching up a large blanket and bringing it over to Ray, wrapping it securely around him. “That shouldn’t be happening should it?” Stefan asked as Ray looked over at him.

“Well, obviously.” Klaus replied. 

Ellie moved back to the same tent and pulled out some of their supplies. She watered a small cloth and carefully dabbed away what looked like bloody tears. “Ray, can you tell me what you’re feeling?” She asked softly, her voice thick with worry. 

“It hurts.” Ray told her. “I’m cold.” He added. No matter how much of the bloody tears she wiped away, there were more to take its place. “I don’t feel good.” He sounded almost like a child, and her heart ached. This hadn’t been Klaus’ plan. She couldn’t imagine that this, whatever this was, was what Klaus had wanted.

“Klaus.” Ellie said worriedly as he stood back up. His full focus was on Ray, trying to figure out what was happening. At the moment, Ellie had nothing to help. No grimoires, no easily accessible ghosts to talk to. Even if she had, it was highly unlikely that she would even find anything to begin with. The witch that had put the curse on Klaus had been dead for a thousand years. Klaus, at the moment, was the only successful and living hybrid. They had nothing to go off of on what it should look like for a werewolf that had already turned before to transition.

“You said it was gonna feel better.” Ray said as he shook. “Why doesn’t it feel better?” He looked up to Klaus for help, but Klaus refused to maintain eye contact.

“Some master race.” Stefan sassed.

“Stefan.” Ellie warned.

“Lose the attitude.” Klaus added. Ellie wouldn’t have minded Stefan’s sarcasm had Ray not been suffering like he was. But Ray was clearly in pain and Ellie was more than a little worried. The girl, the one that had originally rushed to Ray’s aid and the first to die, finally jerked awake. “Derek, come feed your girlfriend.” Klaus called casually.

Derek, the compelled human, rose and didn’t object as Klaus took a hold of his arm. For whatever reason, whether it was the sight of a bloodied arm or something else, Ray growled at the sight. Ellie flinched back into the dirt in surprise as Ray ran off. “Holy shit.” She gasped as she watched him disappear into the distance.

“Go get him.” Klaus sounded unconcerned as he instructed Stefan. He looked like he wanted to protest the order, but he just made a face and ran off after the rogue werewolf. Once Stefan was gone, the man who’s name was apparently Derek, dropped down and fed his girlfriend.

“Klaus,” Ellie said softly as she stood next to him. “Whatever’s happening to Ray… is it going to happen to all of them?” She wasn’t ashamed to show him she was worried, especially when she had a sneaking suspicion that he was too.

He didn’t reply for a moment before he confessed, “I don’t know. All we can do is wait and see.” Just in case, Ellie picked up the heavy blanket that Ray had dropped when he ran off, and draped it around the other girl. The girl had already drunk from her boyfriend, and Ellie carefully wiped the blood off the girl’s face. The girl seemed unaware of Ellie’s presence, staring blankly ahead.

Derek, the human, was feeding another person that had finally woken up as Ellie looked over to Klaus. “What is it?” She asked him as she stood. “Klaus?” Ellie made a face as she stepped towards him.

“Come now, let’s go see if Stefan has caught our good friend Ray.” Klaus said.

“What about them? Are they gonna be ok for us to leave them?” Ellie asked worriedly. Another person was slowly pushing themselves up and Derek was heading for them. 

Klaus nodded. “We aren’t going far, I’ll still be able to hear them.” He assured her. “We won’t be gone long.” Ellie, though somewhat reluctantly, agreed and followed after him. The two of them found Stefan staring at something in the distance. “Where did he go?”

“He uh, he got away. Forget him, let’s go.” Stefan said as he tried to walk off.

He didn’t get far before Klaus caught him by the wrist, turning his arm to reveal an awful looking werewolf bite. “A fatal werewolf bite.” Klaus commented. “Ouch.”

“Stefan are you, ok?” Ellie asked worriedly as she observed the bite. The last time she’d seen one was when Klaus had bitten Katherine back in Mystic Falls. Katherine’s bite hadn’t looked as bad as Stefan’s currently looked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m just gonna need Klaus’ blood to heal me.” Stefan assured her.

“Well, I'll tell you what. You find Ray, and then I’ll heal you.” Klaus replied.

Stefan scoffed. “You can’t be serious.”

“You better hurry, cause that bite looks nasty.” Klaus said as he walked back towards the pack.

Ellie looked over the bite. “Are you gonna be ok long enough to find him?” She asked. Something was up, because Stefan was staring over her shoulder. But when she turned, nothing was there. “Stefan?”

“Yeah, yeah. I should get a move on. Go back to camp. The longer I wait the farther away he gets.”

She didn’t like the idea of Stefan running around the wounds already injured, but they had no choice. With a sigh, she released his wrist and headed back to camp. When she returned, Klaus was grinning at the sight of several more people groaning as they woke up. “You can’t be serious about not healing Stefan if he doesn’t find Ray in time, right?” She asked worriedly.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Klaus raised a curious brow at her.

“Just doesn’t make sense that you’d drag us all over creation just to let him die like that.” Ellie told him. She spotted Derek getting fed on by yet another person. “Klaus, you should probably give him a bit of blood. If any of them drink too heavily and he dies, a whole lot of them will die from not being able to transition properly.”

He turned to see the blonde man swaying on his feet. If they didn’t know better, he would have just looked incredibly drunk, but his arm was covered in bite marks as the blood trailed down in little rivulets. “I suppose you’re right.” Klaus agreed as he made his way over to the man.

* * *

The small watch secured on Ellie’s wrist confirmed her suspicions that it had been hours sent Stefan had been on the hunt for Ray. It would be nightfall soon, which made Ellie’s guts twist with worry. She hadn’t made much mention of it, but she was incredibly worried about what was happening with the werewolves. None of them seem right. There were several that were showing symptoms just as Ray had. They were shaking constantly no matter how many blankets Ellie passed out, and had blood streaming from their eyes.

She’d seen several horror movies, and somehow the real life scene before her was far more unsettling. Klaus hadn’t seemed to notice how bad some of them were doing. Instead, he was relishing in what he seemed to think was success. “What’s happening to us?” A young woman with dark hair asked.

The girl was one of the ones without a bloodied face. She did, however, look a little on the pale side, as though she might get sick. “I don’t know.” Ellie confessed as she brushed the girl’s hair out of her face. “Are you cold?”

“No.” She replied. “I feel hot.”

“What’s your name?” Ellie asked.

“Lucy.” She introduced herself.

Ellie nodded as she sat down next to the girl. “How old are you?”

She suddenly seemed smaller. “Fifteen. I’ll be sixteen next month.” But you had to kill someone to trigger the curse, how had a child done that? As if she read Ellie’s mind, she confessed, “My mom’s boyfriend was hurting her. I didn’t mean to kill him. I just wanted him to stop it. She was scared.”

“You were trying to protect your family, there was nothing wrong with that. It was an accident.” Ellie assured her.

“My mom knew what was going to happen when she realized he was dead. She’d never wanted me to find out.” Lucy said sadly. “At least when the pack comes here, we don’t have to chain ourselves up. We aren’t so miserable.” She looked around at her bloodied pack mates. “We were supposed to be safe here.”

“Can you tell me what else you’re feeling?” Ellie asked as she tried to distract the girl from the mangled looking bodies of her friends.

Lucy was silent for a while, thinking about how to describe what she felt. “I feel… I feel lightheaded and kinda like I’m gonna throw up. Uh… I don’t know, it feels like something is itching under my skin. Like pins and needles maybe?” 

The younger girl looked nervous at her explanation. “You did good, Lucy. Here let me get you something to eat.” Ellie said as she stood and went to one of the tents, pulling out a bag of jerky that had been brought. “Maybe this will help.”

She took it gratefully. “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem. I’ll be back to check on you in a bit.” Ellie replied as she gave the girl a small smile. 

It seemed that by nightfall, everyone had already woken up and fed from Derek. Ellie was approaching him as Klaus spoke, “Bad news, my friend. End of the road for you.” Klaus drank heavily from Derek’s neck, before letting his lifeless body drop to the ground. Derek’s girlfriend was one of the one’s with blood running from her eyes and tried to approach Klaus in a near zombie like state. “Careful, love. There’s only one alpha here.” He finally seemed to realize that something was wrong as he looked at how many of them seemed zombie like. “Bloody hell.”

“Klaus this is bad.” Ellie whispered softly as she stepped closer towards him.

“How many are like this?” Klaus asked as they stepped away from the wolves.

“A lot.” Ellie confessed, but not all. “I’ve tried to help the ones that are bleeding, but the blood just keeps coming. If this is tied to them being in transition, I don’t know how to help them. There wouldn’t be anything in any grimoires anyways.”

“How many aren’t bleeding?” Klaus asked as he started to keep a more careful eye on the wolves around them. Some people weren’t standing anymore. Instead, they were laying on the ground, very still. Were they dead? Surely not. Klaus had done everything right.

Ellie shrugged slightly as she looked around. “I’m not sure. But one of the ones that aren’t bleeding said she felt sick and hot. I gave her some food to see if that helped her stomach.” She replied. A low groan of pain rang out sharply across the camp. Ellie looked up to see Lucy doubled over. “That’s the girl I was talking to earlier. Hang on, let me go check on her.” She moved from Klaus to the girl quickly. “Lucy?”

“It hurts.” Lucy whined as she rolled her neck around in a nearly violent manner. “Make it stop.” She begged. “Please make it stop.”

“Let me see, Lucy where does it hurt?” Ellie reached out to try and help, but Lucy’s head snapped up, eyes dark and distorted as she growled. Ellie screeched in surprise as she fell back away from the wolf. Lucy was a snarling mess, snapping violently towards Ellie. “Lucy, stop!”

The young werewolf lunged for Ellie and with a scream, Ellie magic slung the girl back. “Ellie!” Klaus called and was beside her in an instant. He pulled her to her feet and lunged at the same time Lucy did, snapping the girl’s neck.

“No!” Ellie yelled, but it was too late. Lucy’s eyes returned to their natural state as her expression went slack. She had wanted to yell at Klaus for killing the poor girl so carelessly, but Ellie’s attention was drawn to a big man whose eyes were dark like Lucy’s had been. “Klaus.” She whispered slowly. He followed her line of sight and in an instant, the man lunged for Klaus.

Ellie had the air forced out of her lungs as a woman tackled her. She looked over to Klaus for help, but he had three wolves of his own to deal with. She didn’t know what else to do, so she focused and the woman recoiled in pain, scratching at her head to try and make the pain Ellie was causing to stop. Klaus was there, snapping the woman’s neck, before Ellie had to do anything worse. “Get up.” Klaus said as he once again pulled her to her feet.

Some of the other wolves were now starting to circle around Ellie and Klaus. They seemed lucid enough to be enraged at the murder of their friends. “What’s happening to them?” Ellie said as she looked to Klaus.

“They’ve gone rabid. We have to kill them.”

“No!” Ellie hissed. Her eyes were wide and pleading as she told him, “Klaus I can’t kill them.” She told him desperately. “Klaus please.”

Klaus nodded once, sharply, “Just hold them off until I can deal with them.” Then, there was no more time for talking. Several wolves lunged at once and Ellie flung up a magical barrier between them and the wolves. She had to sling several back rather violently as Klaus went through them like it was nothing. One wolf tried to attack Klaus from behind, but Ellie forced pain onto the wolf long enough for Klaus to deal with them. While it felt like a lifetime, the whole ordeal probably only lasted a minute or so.

Broken bodies were all around their feet as Ellie tried to slow her breathing. She looked around to see if anyone else was a threat, but all of the wolves that had been covered with bloody tears were all very still where they laid on the ground. “Klaus.” Ellie called as she stepped closer towards him.

He turned quickly, his eyes shifting back to their natural state. “Are you injured?” He asked.

She shook her head. “I’m a little freaked out, but I’m not hurt.” He moved to sit down on the large rock in the middle of the camp, and Ellie gingerly took a seat next to him. When you weren’t on the receiving end of his wrath, his strength could be a bit comforting. Her shoulder was pressed against his as they sat in silence. She reached out with her magic, trying to see if there were any survivors. “They’re all dead.” Ellie told him.

“I know.” There was something in Klaus’ voice. He was upset about the outcome. Even if she hadn’t been able to tell by the sound of his voice, the way he was guzzling beer would have given it away. They sat in silence for a while, waiting for Stefan to return. When Stefan arrived, he was carrying Ray’s dead body. “They went rabid.” Klaus told him. “Some of them I killed, the others just… bled out.” He stood and added, “In the end… they’re all dead.”

Ellie had stood and moved to walk closer to Stefan and Klaus. She hadn’t expected the frustrated scream that tore from Klaus’ throat as he slung his beer bottle. It crashed against the rock and shattered violently. “Klaus…” Ellie whispered, almost afraid of him directing that rage towards her.

“I did everything I was told!” He screamed and Ellie let Stefan pull her towards him. Neither of them had ever seen Klaus so angry. “I should be able to turn them. I broke the curse. I killed a werewolf. I killed a vampire. I killed the doppelgänger.” There were so many emotions going across Klaus’ face. In that moment, Ellie actually felt a bit bad for him. A thousand years he had waited and he had done everything right, only to be the only one of his kind, unable to turn another. Was it because Elena was still alive? But Klaus had technically killed her. “You look like hell.”

“Last I checked, I’m dying and you don’t want to heal me.” Stefan said as he held out his arm. It looked so much worse than it had before, and Stefan seemed like he was struggling to breathe. Klaus spared a glance to Ray’s dead body. “I had to take him out.” Stefan explained. “I didn’t have a choice. I failed you. I’m sorry.” Stefan moved towards Klaus. “Do what you have to do.”

“It should have worked.” Klaus said bluntly. He turned and picked up an empty beer bottle and after a tense moment, he bit into his hand and let his blood pour inside it. Stefan let out a breath of relief as Klaus offered him the bottle. “Bottoms up.” When Stefan took it, he told them. “We’re leaving.” He started to walk away before he stopped and turned back, observing the multitude of bodies. “It appears the two of you are the only comrades I have left.”

Ellie felt an unexpected wave of sympathy for him as he walked away. Stefan downed the contents of the bottle and gave her a look. “Let’s go.” He said and once Ellie watched the bite fade away, Ellie nodded and they followed after Klaus. She didn’t know what their next move was, but at least she wasn’t alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We got a little more interaction between Ellie and Klaus this chapter, I hope you guys enjoyed it! Also we are so so close to getting to Rebekah and I'm so excited. Also, a Christmas present in the form of an extra chapter is coming your way! So my question now is, would you guys also like one for New Years. As a good way to kick off 2021 which, god willing, won't suck as bad as 2020 did. As always, please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.
> 
> Posted: 12/5/2020


	44. The End of the Affair

**Chapter 44: The End of the Affair**

_ Summer 2010 _

They had, once again, been in the car for an ungodly long duration of time. This time, Ellie was placed in the middle of the backseat between Klaus and Stefan. For whatever reason, Klaus had decided they needed a driver as opposed to them driving themselves. But, to be fair, the back of the SUV was roomy enough that they weren’t cramped into one another. Ellie was too sick of being in the car to really take any interest in their surroundings. So, she had her head rested on Stefan’s shoulder, half asleep. At least, she was until Klaus spoke. “Welcome back to Chicago, Stefan.”

“Chicago?” She asked in surprise as she straightened up slightly. “Why are we in Chicago?” She rubbed her eyes of any sleep as Klaus stepped out and offered his hand to help her out as well. Ellie took it gratefully before looking around in confusion at their surroundings. “What is this place?”

“What are we doing here?” Stefan asked as they followed Klaus.

“I know how much you loved it here.” Klaus told him and Ellie frowned slightly. When had Stefan been in Chicago? Not only that, how would Klaus know that Stefan had loved being there? “Bringing back memories of the good old Ripper days.”

An eighteen wheeler’s lights were shining brightly towards them as Klaus opened the door. It was mostly carrying the caskets of Klaus’ family inside it. “Blocked out of most of them.” Stefan replied. “A lot of blood, a lot of partying. The details are all a blur.” He confessed.

“Well, that is a crying shame. The details are what makes it legend.” Klaus told them. “Word was The Ripper of Monterey got lonely, so he escaped to the city for some comfort. It was prohibition. Everything was off limits then, which made  _ everything _ so much fun. You would have loved it, darling.” They listened as Klaus explained what the city had been like back then, and Ellie noticed the fond reminiscence in his tone. “Chicago was magical.” He eventually said.

“Yeah, well, I’ll take your word for it.” Stefan replied, unimpressed. “Like I said, I don’t remember most of it.” Ellie followed Stefan’s movement as he walked away, and caught an odd expression on Klaus’ face. She tucked away the observation for later. She doubted he would tell her why he made that expression, at least not yet.

“Down to business, then?” Klaus asked.

Ellie made a face. “You still haven’t explained  _ why _ we’re here. I doubt you’ve brought us all this way only to relive Stefan’s old Ripper glory days, or whatever.”

Stefan had questions of his own. He jumped in, asking, “Why am I still with you? We had our fun, your hybrids failed. I mean, don’t you want to move on?”

“To answer your question and yours, love, we’re going to see my favorite witch.” Klaus told them as he walked past them. “If anyone can help us with our hybrid problem, it’s her. Like you said, love, it’s not like the answer to our problem is going to be written down in any old grimoire.”

“Wait, then why did we stop here?” Ellie groaned. “We’ve been in the car for  _ ages _ , Klaus.”

Klaus grinned at her whining. “We have some very precious cargo to drop off, love. Wouldn’t want Elijah’s casket to get scratched now would we?” She made a face at his cheeky comment. “Come now, come now, don’t make such a long face. Where we’re going isn’t much farther. My favorite witch is keen on staying in a particular place. You’ll see why when we arrive.”

“Might as well get it over with.” Ellie huffed to herself as she piled back into the middle seat. “You owe me for sticking me in the middle seat for this long.” She groaned.

Once Klaus and Stefan were back in place next to her, she dropped her head dramatically onto Stefan’s shoulder. “Well, you look rather cozy from where I’m sitting.” He commented smugly.

She rolled her eyes, unsurprised by his comment. “You know, for someone a thousand years old, you’re awfully dramatic.”

Klaus let out a loud laugh. His voice was full of mirth as he replied, “A thousand years is far too long to be so serious all the time. Trust me, I’ve watched Elijah do it. He’d have had much more fun if he lightened up a bit.”

“Mmhmm.” She replied as she watched the scenery through the front. She’d never been to Chicago before. It was a very different place when compared to Mystic Falls. Klaus had been right, the drive to wherever they were going wasn’t long and she took his hand once more as he helped her step out. “Thank god.”

She wasn’t sure where they were, but Klaus seemed pleased and she followed him and Stefan inside. “Looks familiar, doesn’t it?” He asked.

“Nope, can’t say I recall.” Ellie said sarcastically. At least, for now, he was in one of his moods where Ellie could make sarcastic comments without really worrying about his reaction. Hell, Stefan said sarcastic things even when Klaus was pissed, and Klaus had yet to maim or kill him.

“Hilarious.” Klaus drawled.

“I can’t believe this place is still here.” Stefan replied as he looked around in fascination.

Ellie sensed a strong presence and looked over to her left to see a beautiful black woman with stunning white hair standing there with a look of disbelief on her face. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“So, a hybrid walks into a bar, says to the bartender…”

“Stop.” The woman said immediately, cutting Klaus off. “You may be invincible, but that doesn’t make you funny.”

“Oh I like her.” Ellie grinned brightly at the woman. Anyone who didn’t seem impressed or intimidated by Klaus was someone Ellie would probably get along with.

“Of course you do.” Klaus replied with a roll of his eyes.

The woman was looking Ellie over. “Now what’s a bright little witch like yourself doing with these two?” She asked Ellie curiously. Her gaze flicked over to Stefan, who was staring at her with open curiosity and confusion. “I remember you.” She confirmed.

“Yeah.” Stefan replied. “You’re Gloria.” When she hummed in confirmation, Stefan asked, “Shouldn’t you be…”

“Old and dead?” She finished for him. She grinned warmly at him. “Now if I die, who’s going to run this place, huh?”

Klaus looked ever so pleased. “Gloria’s a very powerful witch.” He told them.

“I can slow the aging down some. Herbs and spells, but don’t worry. It’ll catch up to me one day.” Gloria told them.

“Stefan, why don’t you and the little witch go and fix us up a little something from behind the bar?” Klaus asked, though they were all aware it was a dismissal of the two of them.

For what it was worth, Stefan took it in stride. He gave a small smile and said, “Yeah, sure thing. Come on, Ellie.”

“You look ravishing by the way.” Klaus was telling Gloria as Ellie and Stefan walked behind the bar.

“Don’t.” Gloria said, stopping him with a single word. “I know why you’re here. A hybrid out to make more hybrids? That kind of news travels.” Ellie spared a glance to see that the other witch had taken a seat across from Klaus.

“So what am I doing wrong?” Klaus inquired. “I broke the curse.”

“Obviously you did something wrong.” Gloria informed him bluntly. “Look, every spell has a loophole, but a curse that old… we’d have to contact the witch who created it.”

“Well, that would be the Original Witch.” Klaus told her. “She’s very dead.” Ellie wasn’t entirely discreet as she watched him, but she did catch the satisfaction in his tone and on his face at that declaration. It wasn’t surprising though, if she’d been cursed for a thousand years, she’d be glad the person who cursed her was dead too. There might have been something more on his face, but she wasn’t sure what.

“I know.” Gloria said. “And for me to contact her, I’ll need help.” There was a tense pause before Gloria spoke again. “Bring me Rebekah.”

Rebekah? Who was Rebekah? “Rebekah.” Klaus repeated in disbelief. Whoever the girl was, Klaus didn’t seem too pleased that she was what Gloria needed. “Rebekah is a bit preoccupied.”

Gloria wasn’t fazed. “She has what I need.” The woman didn’t even miss a beat. “Bring her to me.” Klaus’ somewhat smug smile faded at the woman’s statement.

“What is this?” Stefan asked and Ellie turned towards him. He looked entirely confused as his attention focused solely on Klaus.

“What’s what?” Ellie asked.

Klaus stood as he replied, “Well, I told you, Stefan. Chicago’s a magical place.”

“But this is me… with you.” 

At Stefan’s confession, Ellie carefully plucked the picture from his hands. She was startled to see both Stefan and Klaus grinning brightly towards her, their arms slung over each other’s shoulders as if they had always been friends. Hell, they looked as close as brothers. “Holy shit.” Ellie muttered. “Wait how do you not remember this, Stefan?” 

Stefan just shook his head with his eyes wide. “I have no clue.” He told her before turning back to Klaus. “What the hell is going on?”

“Come now, we have to fetch Rebekah.” Klaus said suddenly, turning on his heel and walking out of the bar.

“Who’s Rebekah?” Ellie asked as they piled back into the car, this time Klaus was driving. She climbed into the passenger’s seat to keep Stefan from doing something stupid. “Also how do you know Stefan? This picture looks like its from the twenties? But you never said anything about knowing Stefan and he’s definitely not made it seem like he knows you.”

Klaus didn’t respond to their pestering as he pulled the car back into the place they’d been before they went to Gloria’s. Ellie and Stefan shared a look of frustration and confusion as Klaus walked ahead of them. Stefan has apparently decided that he’d held his tongue long enough and said, “This doesn’t make any sense. Why don’t I remember you?”

“You said it yourself, that time had a lot of dark holes.” Klaus shot back. It sounded like a lie to Ellie.

“No, if you knew me, then why haven’t you said anything?” Stefan demanded.

“I’m a little busy right now. Memory lane will have to wait.” Klaus deflected and Ellie was trying desperately to put together the puzzle before her. What the hell was Klaus not telling them?

Stefan reached forward and jerked Klaus roughly, forcing the older vampire to stop walking. “What the  _ hell _ is going on?” Stefan demanded.

“Stefan.” Ellie warned, tugging slightly on his arm. “Calm down.”

“You should listen to her mate.”

“I don’t want you to tell me to calm down. I want you to tell me whatever the hell it is you’re keeping from me.” Stefan snapped. “Answer me.”

Klaus casually removed Stefan’s hand from his arm. “Let’s just say we didn’t get off to a brilliant start. To be honest, I hated you.” Klaus confessed. “You see, you had taken a shine to Rebekah. The two of you were together constantly, and I didn’t like that. I didn’t trust you. Quite frankly, I didn’t think you were worthy of her. Neither you nor Rebekah liked it when I told her it was time to go. She needed to be reminded that as my sister, she needed to do as she was told.”

“Your sister.” Stefan repeated. Ellie was only somewhat surprised at the revelation. This place was clearly where Klaus was intending to keep his siblings while they were in Chicago. So if he brought them here to get Rebekah, it only made sense that she was one of the daggered siblings. “So I knew another Original vampire?”

“If you can’t handle it, then don’t ask.” Klaus replied, walking off. Why did he keep doing that? He had never really been one to run away from a conversation before. Ellie followed him and there was a sudden pain as she recognized the energy of the casket to her right. Elijah was just inside, but she would never be able to get him undaggered without Klaus seeing.

When she stepped up to the now open casket, she was greeted with the sight of a pretty blonde in a dress clearly from the twenties. If it weren’t for the unnatural grey tone her skin had taken on from being daggered, Ellie was sure the girl before her would be one of the most beautiful people Ellie had ever seen. “I don’t recognize her.” Stefan said from where he’d stepped up behind Ellie.

“Well, don’t tell her that.” Klaus replied without looking away from Rebekah. His gaze was tender, and surprisingly filled with love. He looked like he absolutely adored his sister. But how could he love her that much when he’d stuffed her and his other siblings in boxes for so long? But he must love her. If he didn’t would he have dropped them all in the ocean like he’d told Elijah? “Rebekah’s temper is worse than mine.” He said fondly as he pulled out the dagger. “Time to wake up, little sister.”

When there was no immediate reaction, Ellie asked curiously, “How long does it normally take for them to wake up? Is how fast they wake up affected by how long they were daggered?”

“Any day now, Rebekah.” Klaus called out. It sounded exactly like how Ellie would call for Jeremy to wake up when he was being stubborn. Ellie was carefully storing away the information for later, because she knew she’d get nothing from Klaus right now. “She’s being dramatic.” He told them. “And to answer your question, little witch. I haven’t the slightest idea.”

“Look, why don’t you just tell me what the hell is going on?” Stefan asked as he crossed his arms. Ellie mentally congratulated him for keeping his composure as well as he was. “I mean, you obviously want me here for a reason, right?”

“Well you have many useful talents.”

“Do I?” Stefan asked skeptically. It was clear that he thought Klaus was full of shit.

Klaus turned suddenly to face the two of them. “In fact, I learned some of my favorite tricks from you.” Klaus said. He gave Ellie a wicked grin. “You’re going to love this. Stefan and Rebekah had picked up this pretty little thing for supper and brought her to Gloria’s. They hadn’t really maimed her, of course, just some light drinking, when her husband came barging in, demanding to know where his wife was.”

“Why do I feel like this isn’t going to be good?” Ellie asked Stefan as she pulled a face.

Stefan shared her look. “I was a Ripper and apparently pals with Klaus here. There’s no way it was good.”

“Oh, but it was. You see, Stefan compelled the man to sit down. I remember so vividly how you stared him down as you slit his wife’s wrist. Just enough to fill up a glass. Even I was surprised when you made him drink his own wife’s blood. The whole glass.” Klaus explained with a small grin. “I was your number one fan.”

As he told them the story, he was leading them through the building. “No offense Stefan, but ew.” Ellie said as she gagged a little at the thought.

“And why should I believe any of this?” Stefan took her comment and Klaus’ story in stride.

Klaus stopped at a guard and compelled him, “When she wakes up, tell her to meet us at Gloria’s bar. Then volunteer your carotid artery and let her feed until you die.”

“Where are you going?”

“You think I’m lying, Stefan.” Klaus replied. “You and I knew each other. You trusted me with one of your secrets. And now I’m going to prove it to you.”

“How?” Ellie and Stefan asked at the same time.

Klaus didn’t look back. “We’re going to your old apartment.”

“This should be fun.” Ellie said, though neither Stefan nor Klaus seemed to be listening to her.

The drive wasn’t disgustingly long, thank god for small mercies. The elevator in the building was nonfunctional, so they’d had to trek up the stairs. “What a charming little homestead.” Klaus said, sarcasm dripping from his tone. They walked to the front door and Klaus stopped, staring suspiciously at the door handle. He forced the door open and walked inside. “Do you feel that?” He asked them. “Is anybody here?”

At once, Ellie felt a familiar magical signature. Elena was here. “It’s been vacant for decades.” Stefan denied. Ellie wondered if he was aware that Elena was there. “People must break in all the time.”

“Abandoned apartment like this would be good for parties or getting high.” Ellie commented. When Klaus raised an eyebrow, she added, “My brother was a stoner for a while. I know some of their tricks.”

“Why’d you bring us here?”

“Your friend, Liam Grant, the one who drank his wife’s blood… I never could figure out why you wanted his name. And then you told me your little secret. It was  _ all _ part of your special little ritual.”

It seemed to click to Stefan suddenly as he stopped fiddling with a book that had been sitting on the table. “To write it down.”

“And relive the kill.” Klaus added. “Over and over again.” Klaus was nearly gleeful as he pulled open what had looked to be a bookcase, but was really a hidden section, probably once used for hiding illegal alcohol. “You believe me now?”

Ellie knew that Elena was just behind that wall, and things could get very bad, very fast, if Elena was found out. Stefan stepped forward and Ellie knew he’d seen Elena from the way he froze. Luckily, it seemed that someone was looking out for them. Klaus had turned on his heel and was lazily making his way around the apartment. “Look what I found.” Stefan called, and for a split second, Ellie was sure her heart stopped. Instead of Elena, Stefan pulled out a bottle. “1918. Single malt.”

“My favorite.” Klaus replied. “Let’s go and find someone to pair it with.”

“Ew.” Ellie groaned in disgust, but Klaus just gave her a grin as they walked out of the apartment.

* * *

They were back at Gloria’s and the bar was now in full swing. “Where’s Rebekah?” Gloria asked as Ellie, Klaus, and Stefan sat at the bar.

“She’ll be here.” Klaus replied confidently. “I can’t just conjure her on demand.”

Gloria gave him an unimpressed grin. “Were you and Rebekah friends?” Ellie asked the older witch curiously. “While Stefan and Klaus were apparently wrecking havoc.”

The witch smiled warmly. “Rebekah was one of my best customers. Always tipped everyone well, and she was always kind to me. Things are different now than they were back then. And oftentimes, back then wasn’t a very friendly place to be for a woman of color like myself.” Gloria said. “Her first several interactions with that one there included her telling him and his little crew of rich boys to shut the hell up.”

Ellie made a face. “Stefan you sound like you were a frat boy.”

“Something along those lines.” Gloria confirmed.

Klaus clearly noticed when Stefan didn’t reply to Ellie’s comment. “What’s with you? I thought Chicago was your playground.”

“So this is why you asked me to be your wingman?” Stefan asked as he stood abruptly. “Because you liked the way that I tortured innocent people?”

Stefan was clearly upset, but Klaus didn’t seem particularly bothered. “Well, that’s certainly half of it.”

“What’s the other half?”

“The other half, Stefan, is that you used to want to be my wingman.” Klaus replied as he poured the three of them shots. He slid Stefan a shot before handing Ellie hers. She downed it in one go. “Nice one, love.” He poured her another as he said, “You thought I was a good friend once, and I thought the same of you. We were comrades.” Stefan looked like he was trying to piece together what the hell was happening as Klaus held up his shot. “To friendship.”

There was something in Klaus’ expression. Maybe it was hope, Ellie couldn’t be entirely sure. Maybe it was a fool’s errand to try and see if there was something good in Klaus. There was absolutely a chance that he was as much of an evil monster as everyone said. But people said that Katherine was a heartless bitch, and she wasn’t. The Katherine that Ellie had gotten to know could be ruthless, yes, but she’d not taken advantage of Ellie when she was vulnerable. In fact, she took care of Ellie when there was nothing to gain from it. “To friendship.” Ellie repeated as she clinked her glass with Stefan’s and Klaus’.

Maybe things would be a bit easier if she gave Klaus a chance. The deeper they got into Klaus and Stefan’s history, and Klaus’ near desperation for more hybrids, Ellie felt a bit more empathetic of Klaus. It didn’t seem like that far of a reach to say that Klaus was very lonely and wanted companionship. Why else keep someone who didn’t even remember that they were once friends?

Speaking of that, it was incredibly strange that Stefan didn’t have the slightest inclination that he and Klaus had been friends once. Surely he should have remembered  _ something _ . “So, I’m confused. If we were such great friends, then why do I only know you as the hybrid  _ dick _ who sacrificed my girlfriend on an altar of fire?” Stefan asked. It was clear that he was drinking enough to start to get wasted.

“All good things must come to an end.” Klaus told him, but it wasn’t really a good answer, or an answer at all. “We were all having good fun at Gloria’s as we always did, but the police arrived. They were sporting guns filled with wooden bullets. Rebekah and I needed to leave, and unfortunately at the time you were, unfortunately, a loose end that we didn’t need.” He didn’t say it maliciously, just as a statement of fact.

Understanding washed over Ellie and Stefan. “You compelled me to forget.”

“It was time for Rebekah and I to move on.” Klaus said as he stared at his glass. “Better to have a clean slate.” Stefan, despite not having his memories of that time, honestly looked a bit betrayed.

“But why?” Stefan pressed. “You shouldn’t have to cover your tracks… unless you’re running from someone.”

“Storytime’s over.” Klaus replied. Ellie stiffened slightly as she felt a magical energy so very similar to Stefan’s step into the bar. It made sense, where Elena was, Damon was sure to follow. Stefan glanced to his left and then looked over to Ellie. She nodded slightly before taking a drink.

“I need another drink.” Stefan said. “A real one.” Klaus didn’t say anything and as Stefan walked away, he grabbed a bottle from behind the bar.

Interestingly enough, Ellie was a bit concerned by Klaus’ reaction. Elijah had never mentioned anyone dangerous enough to have Klaus on the run. And if Klaus was bad, how bad could whoever it was possibly be. “Klaus…” She pressed slightly, nudging her shoulder against his. “He’s right isn’t he?”

“About what?” Klaus asked.

“About someone being after you.” Ellie replied. “But it doesn’t make sense. You’re The Hybrid, who could be powerful enough to hurt you when even before the sacrifice, you were unkillable?” Klaus took a heavy drink. “Are they really that bad?” She asked worriedly.

“Why do you care?”

“I… it was bad enough when you were threatening to kill everyone I care about. Someone being more dangerous than you isn’t something I really wanna deal with.” She said finally. She didn’t really have a good excuse as to why she cared. “I won’t press you about it or them or whatever, it just caught me by surprise since Elijah never mentioned it.” Klaus just hummed in response. “Klaus?”

“Yes?”

“But if Stefan and Rebekah loved each other so much, which it sounds like they did, and you and him were so close, why didn’t you just take him with you?” Ellie asked curiously. “I mean, Stefan’s a pretty loyal person, I couldn’t really see him betraying you like that when you and your sister had meant so much to him.”

“Better safe than sorry.” Klaus told her. “You live as long as I have, you know that most people can never be truly trusted.” Ellie thought suddenly of Elena, and how badly she felt she’d been betrayed by her twin.

“Last call. Drink ‘em up!” Gloria called to the patrons of the bar as Damon approached and took Stefan’s vacated spot.

“I see they’ve opened the doors to the riff raff now.” Klaus drawled without looking over at the older Salvatore.

“Oh, honey, I’ve been called worse.”

Klaus chuckled as he twirled around the little umbrella that he’d taken from Ellie’s drink. “You don’t give up, do you?”

“Give me my brother back, you’ll never have to see me again.” Damon told him.

“Well, I am torn.” Klaus confessed. “You see, I promised Stefan I wouldn’t let you die, but how many freebies did I really sign up for? And clearly you  _ want  _ to die, otherwise you wouldn’t be here, so…”

“What can I say?” Damon grinned. “I’m a thrill seeker.” In an instant, Klaus had his hand wrapped tightly around Damon’s throat. Ellie spared a worried glance around the bar, but it had already cleared out.

Ellie stood as Klaus lifted Damon off his feet. Something cracked and Klaus said, “Oh, dear, what was that? I’m a little boozy.” He held the sharp end of Ellie’s little drink umbrella next to Damon’s throat in threat. “So, you’ll forgive me if I miss your heart for the first few tries.” He stabbed low on Damon’s chest, beneath his heart. “No, that’s not it.” He tried again and Damon groaned in pain, “Ohh, almost.”

He tilted the little piece of wood upward and pushed in. “You want a partner in crime? Forget Stefan. I’m so much more fun. Come on, Sabrina, tell him.” Klaus slung Damon away, crashing into one of the tables and breaking it.

Klaus broke off a leg chair and replied, “You won’t be any fun after you’re dead.”

Before Klaus could stake Damon, the wood erupted into flames. He shot Ellie a look but she held her hands up in defense. “It wasn’t me!” 

“Really?” Klaus asked as he noticed Gloria.

“Not in my bar. You take it outside.” She insisted.

Gloria stood there, unimpressed by the display, as Klaus told Damon, “You don’t have to negotiate your brother’s freedom. When I’m done with him, he won’t want to go back.”

He released Damon and Ellie looked at Gloria in apology. “I’m sorry about the mess. But I suppose you know how Klaus can get.”

“Yes, I do.” Gloria confirmed. “Men are all the same.” She said with a roll of her eyes. “I hope you know you’re paying for a replacement.” She told Klaus, unbothered by the scene before her.

“Yes, yes, of course.” Klaus replied. He turned to Damon with a look of warning. “Now leave, before I change my mind about letting you leave with your heart still intact.”

* * *

After everything that went down at Gloria’s, once Rebekah was still a no-show, Klaus took them back to the building where the caskets were. “Stefan, you stay out here while the little witch and I go and check on Rebekah.” Klaus told them. Stefan frowned slightly, but nodded. Ellie followed Klaus inside somewhat hesitantly. But she thought it was fair to be nervous about meeting another Original. She wasn’t surprised when she saw Rebekah’s casket was empty.

“Klaus.” Ellie whispered and tilted her head towards where the body of the security guard lay.

“Rebekah…” He called in a sing-song voice. “It’s your big brother. Come out, come out wherever you are.” Ellie stepped back slightly out of nerves as she waited.

There was a rush and a blur of white before Klaus gasped out in pain. “Go to hell, Nik!” Rebekah said through gritted teeth as she pushed the dagger in deep.

After he recovered from the pain, he pulled out the bloodied dagger and dropped it to the ground. “Don’t pout. You knew it wouldn’t kill me.”

“Yeah, but I was hoping it would hurt more.” She shot back. Ellie was still trying to get her brain to catch up with the situation. Rebekah turned to walk away when she spotted Ellie. A dark look rushed over her features and she had a death grip around Ellie’s throat a second later. “What the bloody hell is this?”

Klaus didn’t seem surprised as he pried Rebekah’s hand from Ellie’s throat. In her shock, Ellie hadn’t even thought to use magic to defend herself. “Now, now, don’t go killing off our friends before she even gets a word in. It’s bad manners.” He chided in amusement.

“Our  _ friend _ ?” Rebekah made a face. “Who is she and why is she here?”

“This is Eleanor. She’s a companion of ours and she’s rather handy.” Klaus introduced. “A handy little witch, if I do say so myself.”

Rebekah’s eyes widened in shock. “A witch? But that doesn’t make any sense.”

“She seems to be one of a kind. And I can’t let you go off killing her now can I?”

“Why shouldn’t I kill her just to spite you?” Rebekah spat angrily.

“I understand that you’re upset with me, Rebekah… so I’m going to let these two little things go. Just this once. But I’d hate for you to go and kill her when I’ve brought you a little peace offering.” Klaus said before calling out to Stefan, “You can come in.”

Ellie had moved enough to see the way Rebekah paused in confusion as she turned to look ahead. When he walked in, Ellie watched as Rebekah’s eyes lit up in happiness. “Stefan.” She looked like she wanted to smile, but when Stefan didn’t immediately react, she faltered.

Klaus strode over to Stefan and said, “Now, you remember.”

Stefan closed his eyes as the memories washed over him, and when he tilted his head with a look of near awe at Rebekah, she gave him a hopeful little smile. “Rebekah.” He said softly as he stepped towards her. Rebekah was standing very still and holding her breath as she waited to see what he would do.

He’d almost reached her when Klaus called, “Stefan…”

Stefan turned on his heel to stare at Klaus. Ellie, like Rebekah, held her breath. But she did it more in fear of messing up what seemed to be a very important moment between the three before her. “I remember you. We were friends.”

“We  _ are _ friends.” Klaus corrected. For the first time, Ellie didn’t doubt his sincerity in the slightest. He genuinely still considered Stefan a friend. He turned to Rebekah, the warmth that had been on his features a second ago had diminished some. “And now the reason, you’re here. Gloria tells me you know how to contact the Original Witch.”

“The Original Witch?” Rebekah said in distaste.

“What do you have that Gloria needs?” Klaus asked and Rebekah reached up in a move clearly meant to grab a necklace.

She looked down in panic when she didn’t find it. “Where’s my necklace? What did you do with it? I never take it off!” Rebekah demanded.

“I don’t know. I didn’t touch it.”

“We need to find it, Nik. Now, I want it back!”

“Tell me that’s not what she needs.” Klaus shouted. “Tell me that’s not what she needs, Rebekah!” He stepped forward and grabbed the blonde girl, shaking her roughly enough that Ellie instinctively took a step forward. 

Rebekah broke away and rushed to her casket. She searched it frantically and when she couldn’t find it, she slammed the casket shut and flipped it violently. It seemed Klaus was right, Rebekah’s temper was just as bad if not worse than his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enter Rebekah! We don't get much of her this chapter, but we'll get more as it goes on. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and as always please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
> 
> Posted: 12/12/20


	45. Disturbing Behavior

**Chapter 45: Disturbing Behavior**

_ Summer 2010 _

They were up early the next day. Rebekah had demanded that Klaus owed it to her to get her enough clothes that were accurate to the times. She’d been grumpy enough when Klaus had made her wear Ellie’s clothes until she could pick out something she liked. Klaus had brought them to a ridiculously high end store. A store so fancy that there was a waiting room out front with plush chairs and a girl to give them champagne as an associate took Rebekah back to pick things out for her.

It seemed that the associate had finally decided that she’d picked out enough clothes for Rebekah and had left Rebekah to try on what had been selected. Ellie was sitting at the foot of the chaise lounge chair Klaus was relaxing on when Rebekah called out, “There has to be more to this dress.”

“There’s not.” Klaus replied boredly.

Rebekah stepped out in a little black dress that had more than a little bit of cleavage on display. It was clear that Rebekah hated it. “So women in the twenty first century dress like prostitutes, then.” She sassed. Ellie grinned slightly. Rebekah gave Ellie a look and told her, “You know, I got dirty looks for wearing trousers.”

“You wore trousers so women today could wear nothing.” Klaus shot back.

“And what is this music? It sounds like a cable car accident.” Rebekah complained.

“It’s dance music.” Stefan explained as Klaus rolled his eyes.

“People dance to this?” She asked in disbelief.

“Are we done?” Klaus complained.

Rebekah strolled over to him. “And why are you so grumpy?” She asked as she pouted out her lip as she mocked him. 

“I needed one thing from you for my witch to find out why my hybrids are dying. One thing. Your necklace. And you lost it.” Klaus sassed.

“I didn’t lose it. It’s just been missing for ninety years.” She told him before turning to Stefan. “So what do you think?”

She turned to give him a complete view of the outfit. “I like it.” Rebekah’s shoulder’s dropped as she gave him a look. “What? I said I like it.”

“I can always tell when you’re lying, Stefan.”

Stefan shot Klaus a look of disbelief and Klaus just shrugged. “Nice one. Good work.”

“You’re the one that pulled the dagger out of her.”

“I heard that.” Rebekah called from the dressing room.

Klaus sighed before Stefan stood. “All right. I’m going to get some fresh air.”

Ellie turned just to see Stefan look back at them, confusion on his face. She knew better than to question it. She’d talk to him about it later. Ellie turned her attention to Klaus as Stefan walked out of the store. “She really does need proper clothes, you know.” Ellie told him. “Or she’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Well then, by all means.” Klaus gestured to the changing rooms.

She stood and strolled over to where a curtain was pulled closed and knocked on the wall next to it. “Rebekah? Can I come in?”

Rebekah huffed, but relented. “Come in.” The blonde was glaring viciously at the clothes the sales associate had picked out. “There’s nothing to any of this.” She huffed as she aggressively put the dress she’d been wearing back on the hanger.

“Well then, let’s start from scratch.” Ellie suggested. “Were you comfortable wearing my clothes?” Ellie asked.

Currently, Rebekah was wearing one of Ellie’s short sleeved tops and a pair of jeans. Rebekah observed her outfit in the mirror and nodded. “I like the trousers.” She confirmed.

“Nowadays, people call trousers like what we’re wearing, people call them jeans. There’s a lot of different types of jeans, depending on the shape, but those are skinny jeans.” Ellie explained. Rebekah nodded as she took in the information. “Are you comfortable in the top?”

“It’s soft. And it’s a pretty color.” Rebekah said as she felt the material. It was a regular cotton shirt, but the soft pink of it did look really good with Rebekah’s skin tone.

Ellie picked through the clothes the sales associate had picked out for Rebekah. “No wonder you hated all this. It’s all party girl clothes. This isn’t what most people wear all the time.” Ellie assured her. “What we’re wearing right now is much more common.” Some of the tension seemed to leave Rebekah’s shoulders. “I can help.” Ellie offered softly.

“Why would you want to?” Rebekah scoffed. “I tried to kill you last night.”

“Because of something someone that looked like me did, I’m assuming.” Ellie shrugged, unoffended. “What I’m curious to know is, which one. Was it Katherine, or was it whoever the Original Witch used to turn you into vampires?”

Rebekah looked more than a bit surprised. “How did you know there was more than her?”

“I’m a witch and I’ve learned enough to know that nature demands there be a balance.” Ellie told her, and then quietly confessed, “Plus, Elijah kind of told me.”

“You’ve met Elijah?”

“I’m a doppelgänger, that much is obvious. Klaus needed a doppelgänger to break his curse, but I’m a witch and apparently too valuable to kill.” Ellie swallowed hard. “He killed my twin sister instead.”

“Then why on earth are you with him?” Rebekah inquired.

“He had intended to use my aunt as the vampire sacrifice. I traded my life for hers. I go with Klaus and he leaves my family alone.” Ellie explained.

“You love you aunt that much?”

“Yes.” Ellie said without hesitation. “But it wasn’t just that. Other than my sister, I have a brother. He’s my baby brother. We lost our parents over a year ago in a car crash. My sister and I nearly died in the car with them. It was too many people for him to lose. Our parents, then to lose our sister and our aunt? We’d have had practically no one left. It’s better for me to be alive and not there then for us to lose another family member.”

Rebekah was observing Ellie curiously. Finally, Rebekah said, “Girls with faces like yours have brought my family nothing but trouble for a thousand years. Why should I assume you're any different?”

“You shouldn’t.” Ellie replied. “You have no reason to think I’m any different. But I think over time, maybe you’ll realize I’m not them. I don’t know what they’ve done for you to hate them that much, but I’m sure you have a valid reason.” The thought of her family had her a little emotional, so she shook it off instead. “Why don’t we go back there and try to get you stuff you don’t hate.”

The girl was odd, Rebekah decided, talking about something deeply personal and then not being fazed with Rebekah’s attempt to kill her and then talking about clothes like it was nothing. “All right.” Rebekah agreed. It would be nice to have a friend in this century. Besides, if this one turned out like all the rest, Nik would just have to get over Rebekah killing her.

* * *

After they got rid of basically everything the sales associate had originally brought Rebekah, it hadn’t been too bad finding things Rebekah liked. They had returned to Gloria’s after spending a good bit of Klaus’ money. Stefan had yet to return from his walk to get fresh air, and Ellie was more than curious as to where he’d gone. Ellie was currently sitting at the bar while Rebekah sat on top of it. Klaus was sitting on the other side of Ellie as Gloria tried to locate the necklace. “You left us.” Rebekah said as Stefan walked in.

“Yeah, sorry, retail therapy was making my head explode.” Stefan apologized.

“Tell me about it.” Klaus replied as he downed the contents of his glass.

“What’s she doing?” Stefan asked as he looked over at Gloria.

“She’s failing.” Klaus told him.

Like always, Gloria wasn’t fazed. She didn’t even open her eyes “It’s hard to find something when you don’t have anything to go on.” She reminded him. Ellie nodded in agreement.

“So use me.” Rebekah offered as she hopped off the counter. “I only wore it for a thousand years.”

It was obvious that Gloria liked Rebekah. She opened her eyes to look at the blonde before looking at Klaus. “See? Now this one offers a solution.” Gloria told him.

“I think she’s saying you’re unhelpful, Klaus.” Ellie sassed.

Rebekah slid onto the table Gloria was working at as Klaus glared at Ellie. “All right, give me your hand, sweetheart.”

“She’s, uh, she’s looking for the necklace, huh?” Stefan asked carefully.

Ellie nodded as she swirled slightly in her seat. “She’s been looking for a bit now.”

Now that she was channeling Rebekah, Ellie could feel the magic in the room picking up. Something was happening. “I can sense something.” Gloria told them as Klaus rose to step closer to the scene before them. Ellie also rose as Gloria began to chant under her breath. It sounded similar to the locator spell Ellie often used. She cut off suddenly, dropping Rebekah’s hand. She caught her breath before looking at Klaus. “I found it.”

“So where is it?” Rebekah inquired excitedly.

“It doesn’t work like that, doll.” Gloria told her.

“I get images.” Gloria told her. “There’s a girl with her friends…”

“Yes a  _ dead _ girl with  _ dead _ friends if I don’t get my necklace back.” Rebekah threatened.

Gloria nodded in understanding. “Well, I’ll have to dive back in to get the details.”

“So dive.” Klaus instructed as he walked over.

“I need more time.” Gloria said and when Klaus leaned on the table next to her she added, “And space. You’re harshing my ju-ju.” She told him as she waved him away.

Klaus chuckled slightly. “We can wait.” He told her.

“I’m sure you can.” Gloria agreed. “But that’s not what I asked.”

Stefan, seemingly sensing the tension, stepped forward. “Hey, hey, you know, why don’t we just come back later?” He suggested. “I’m hungry anyways.” When Klaus didn’t move, Stefan added, “I’ll let you pick who we eat.”

“So, I don’t want to watch that.” Ellie commented. “I think I’m gonna just browse around the stores, maybe get human food to eat.”

Klaus didn’t seem to mind. “Just come back here or maybe the storage unit once you’re done.” He told her.

Ellie nodded. “Alright. If you need me just text me.” She said. “See you later, Gloria.” Ellie followed the three vampires out, but they disappeared the moment they walked out the door. Now would probably be a good time to send a message to Caroline. When Ellie and Stefan left with Klaus, Ellie hadn’t gotten a chance to bring her charger with her, and the thought of calling or texting Caroline seemed a bit risky anyways.

Klaus hadn’t explicitly forbade her from contacting anyone, though he had made multiple remarks about Ellie and Stefan needing to just let their lives in Mystic Falls go. He had repeatedly told them how much better it would be for them if they did. So, she used the same trick Bonnie had used to let Elena know that Stefan and Damon were coming when they’d been kidnapped by Trevor and Rose.

God, that felt like a lifetime ago. How could her life have changed so significantly in such a short period of time? At least, with that trick, Ellie got to update Caroline every so often that she was still alive. She missed the other girl terribly. Maybe, if she was lucky, she’d get to see her again. Ellie was so lost in thought she didn’t see the person in front of her before she ran straight into them. “I am so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was…” Ellie looked up to see a familiar face before her. “Oh my god? Katherine?”

She pulled her other girl into a tight hug. “Have you missed me?” Katherine asked with a grin.

“You literally have no idea!” Ellie told her as she finally pulled away. “I’ve missed you so much!” She gave Katherine a skeptical look. “Are you insane? If Klaus sees you, you’re dead.”

“Aww, you do care!”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Of course I care. But really why are you so insane that you’re here?”

Katherine shrugged. “Maybe in case I needed to steal you away from him. I’ve been on the run for five hundred years already. It’s not like I couldn’t hide you away and not get us both killed.” She confessed.

She couldn’t help the small smile that she gave the vampire. “Aww, you  _ do  _ care.” She teased back. Ellie said it lightly, but the fact that Katherine was willing to risk getting caught by Klaus, just in case she needed to get Ellie out meant a lot to her. “How long have you been trailing us?”

“A while. It’s not like it was a particularly hard trail to follow. How long do you think it’s gonna take for that witch to find Blondie’s necklace?” Katherine asked as she looped her arm through Ellie’s.

Ellie looked at her in surprise. “You know about Rebekah’s necklace? What do you know about it? Do you know where it is?” Ellie asked.

Katherine’s expression mirrored Ellie’s. “Wait, you don’t know about the necklace?”

“Know what?” 

The vampire seemed to take a moment to think things through. “I’m not gonna tell you.” Katherine decided. “Now don’t make that face! It’ll be better for you if you don’t know. He can’t get mad at you for things you don’t know.”

“But…” Ellie started to protest.

“No, just trust me on this, ok? You’ll know what I’m talking about soon enough.” Katherine said. They strolled into a restaurant and Katherine led Ellie to a back table. “So you’re really, ok?”

The waiter took the order for their drinks before Ellie replied, “It’s been rough at times. It’s really hard when I have to listen. Sometimes I can’t get far enough away when they start to scream, but other times it’s not so bad. He hasn’t really made me do anything bad.”

“Still can’t be easy.” Katherine commented as she stirred her straw in her drink idly.

Ellie shrugged. “It’s been worse for Stefan.” Ellie confessed. “I’m worried about him.”

“We aren’t developing feelings for a certain Salvatore, are we?” Katherine inquired.

“No!” Ellie assured her. “He’s just the only person I have right now from Mystic Falls, and he’s going through as much shit if not more than me. He’s a good person.”

Katherine hummed. “He is.” She agreed. “How bad is it?”

“Klaus typically makes him do the killing. He’s trying to turn Stefan back into the Ripper, and Stefan is trying so hard to stay in control. Klaus wants him to be the man he was best mates with, I guess.” Ellie explained as their food arrived. “But anyways, care to share why Rebekah wanted to kill me as soon as she saw me?”

“What do you mean?” Katherine asked carefully around a bite of food.

“I  _ mean _ that as soon as she saw my face she tried to strangle me.” Ellie told her. “Is there something that you’ve done to incur her wrath?”

Katherine rolled her eyes. “Back in England, Klaus and Elijah both paid me a lot of attention. I’d thought it was nice back then. I’m fairly certain Rebekah thought I was a harlot. She and I just never got along. She seemed to dislike me from the moment I arrived, even though I hadn’t done anything.”

“I think Rebekah said something about girls with faces like mine causing her family nothing but trouble. So maybe she didn’t like you because of something someone else did, another girl that looked like us?” Ellie suggested.

“Maybe.” Katherine agreed. “You haven’t texted.” She commented.

“Klaus got Stefan and I new phones. I have my other one with me, but I don’t have a charger for it. And I didn’t have your number memorized. I haven’t really called anyone. I’ve sent Caroline a few witchy messages to let her know I’m ok, but I can’t get anything back from her, it’s risky” Ellie explained. “I can send you witchy messages if it makes you feel better.” She offered. When Katherine didn’t object, Ellie nodded to herself. “I’ll send you witchy messages.”

Katherine scoffed at her tone. “You do that then.” As they ate, Katherine observed the other girl. She didn’t seem to be in too bad a state. Quite frankly, she seemed better than she had in Mystic Falls. The last time they’d really gotten to have a face to face was when Ellie was still reeling from the back to back deaths of the Martins and Isobel. During that time, Ellie had lost some of her color, and had dark circles under her eyes.

Now, Ellie looked healthier, but Katherine knew listening to murders must not have been easy on the girl. She was worried for Stefan too. He always ended up drowning in his guilt when he came out of his Ripper rages, and for him to be himself while committing those murders must have been awful for him. She felt a little bit better knowing that they had each other in this mess. “What is it?” Ellie asked curiously.

“You’re handling all of this extremely well. Someone weaker would have broken by now.” Katherine commented.

Ellie contemplated it for a minute. Katherine had a point, some people probably wouldn’t be able to handle everything she was dealing with. “I did it for Jenna, and for Jeremy. I suppose it's easy to handle it when I’m doing it for someone I love. I don’t regret my decision, and I guess knowing that they’re safe makes it easier to keep going.” She explained.

“I don’t see how you and Elena are twins when you’re polar opposites. She’s incredibly selfish. You aren’t. I highly doubt little miss thing would do something so selfless. I’m sure she’d find someone to take her place and somehow still get everyone to think she’s a saint.” Katherine complained.

“Somehow it’s relieving to know that your hate of Elena hasn’t changed.” Ellie laughed. 

Katherine gave her a fond smile. “Oh, I could go on about how much I can’t stand her. And I can’t exactly say I’m upset that she was the one that was sacrificed instead of you.”

“But you didn’t tell Klaus.” Ellie said.

“What?”

“About me. You didn’t tell him I was a witch.” Ellie added. “If you would have preferred for it to be Elena, why wouldn’t you tell him about me?”

Katherine paused for a moment before confessing, “I figured you wouldn’t forgive me if I did, because we both know the moment he knew it was the end for Elena. I knew he’d find out eventually, so I figured it could wait.” It was true, Klaus was nothing if not methodical. He would have made sure everything was just as he wanted it before the sacrifice.

“Thanks.” Ellie told her. “I know you hate her, so it means a lot that you didn’t tell him.”

Seeing Katherine had been good for Ellie. Other than with Stefan, she was the first person Ellie could really let her guard down around in months. When it had been time that Ellie should probably head back, she’d hugged Katherine like her life depended on it. Katherine had hugged her back just as fiercely before warning her to be careful. 

Ellie walked back into the empty bar to find Gloria cleaning. “Hi, Gloria!” Ellie called cheerfully. “Have they come back yet?”

“No, not yet.” Gloria confirmed.

“I thought you were supposed to be resting?” Ellie asked.

Gloria shrugged as she wiped down a table. “I’ve got a bar to manage, resting can wait.” She replied. “They’re probably at that storage unit.”

Ellie nodded. “Yeah. I think I’ll head over there.”

It didn’t take long to walk to the storage unit. When she arrived, Rebekah was sitting there, looking bored as Klaus and Stefan fed. “My girl’s dead. I’m bored.” She complained.

“You weren’t kidding about being hungry.” Klaus said to Stefan, ignoring Rebekah entirely.

“Yeah, it’s been a long day.” Stefan agreed.

“Try being related to her.”

“You’re being mean.” Rebekah complained. When Stefan laughed, Rebekah turned to face him. “And why are you being mean? You used to love me.”

“It’s been ninety years, Rebekah. Give him a minute.” Klaus told her.

Ellie felt a bit bad for Rebekah if she was honest. For Rebekah, her relationship with Stefan was still crystal clear in her mind, as if it was just yesterday. Which meant that Rebekah was surely still in love with him. “Why are you taking his side?” Rebekah asked.

“ _ Because _ , my dear sister, I feel pity for any man who doesn’t give you what you want.” Klaus sassed.

“Will you stop making me out to be a brat? I am  _ not _ a brat!” Rebekah demanded. It sounded like she was struggling to keep her emotions in check.

“A thousand years of life experience says otherwise.” Klaus replied.

Stefan laughed breathily. “Well, you’re no picnic, either. I mean, I’ve only spent one summer with you and I feel like I want to blow my head off.”

When the insults were going towards Klaus instead, the tension in Rebekah’s shoulders faded as she laughed. “Fantastic.” She spotted Ellie. “You’re back.”

“You guys weren’t at Gloria’s so I decided to swing by here.” Ellie confirmed.

“I need to go.” Stefan announced as he wiped his mouth.

Rebekah watched him leave as Klaus stayed silent. “Where’s he going?” She asked curiously.

“To write a name on a wall.” Klaus informed her. “It’s a long story.”

* * *

It was a long while later when Klaus decided it was time to go check and see if Gloria had made any progress locating the necklace. “Gloria! Darling, have you found it?” Klaus called as they made their way into the bar. “Gloria?”

“Gloria?” Ellie called, looking for a sign of the older witch. “Was she going somewhere today?”

“She shouldn’t be. She should be looking for that blasted necklace.” Klaus said as he started to search the bar. “Gloria!” He shouted. “I don’t like to be kept waiting darling!”

Ellie reached out with her magic, but felt nothing other than Klaus and herself. “Klaus.” She said. He didn’t seem to hear her as he walked around. “Klaus!” He turned back to look at her and she added, “She’s not here. I can’t sense her.”

Klaus looked through the rooms and cursed. “Bloody hell.” He snapped in frustration. “Her things are gone. The bloody witch has taken off.” He walked briskly towards the exit. “We need to go to Rebekah and Stefan, now. We need a new plan now that Gloria’s gone.”

“Ok.” Ellie agreed as she followed him. He was walking so fast she was nearly having to do one of those awkward half walk, half jog things to keep up with his pace. “Is there a reason why she’d flake on you like that?” She asked curiously. “Has something happened?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her much since the twenties, but she’s gone all the same.” Klaus huffed. He practically slung the storage room door open, announcing to Stefan and Rebekah, “Gloria’s gone. She’s cleared out.” He turned to Ellie suddenly, as if just remembering she was there. “We’re going to need you to find Rebekah’s necklace.”

“Yeah, I’ll do what I can.” She agreed.

Klaus seemed to think that the silence from Rebekah and Stefan was odd. He turned to them and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Something’s wrong. He’s asking about Mikael.” Rebekah said.

“Who’s Mikael?” Ellie asked in confusion. Stefan looked worried, and Rebekah seemed stressed at the mere mention of this Mikael character.

“He’s not with us, Nik.” Rebekah said, “I can sense it.”

“She’s wrong.” Stefan denied. Klaus was staring Stefan down with suspicion. “Klaus…”

Klaus had Stefan’s neck snapped in an instant and Ellie flinched at the sound. “What’s going on?” Ellie asked as she tried not to panic. “Klaus… what’s going on?” She backed away with wide eyes.

He was staring her down and for the first time in months, she was a bit terrified of him. There was no Stefan to mediate now. “What am I to do with you?” Klaus said as he looked over to Rebekah.

“Klaus… please don’t. I don’t know what’s going on.” She said shakily. There was the temptation to use magic to defend herself, but that was more likely to make things worse than better. “Rebekah…” She pleaded.

Rebekah almost looked sympathetic. “He’s keeping something from us, Ellie.” She told her. “How are we to know if you can be trusted?”

Ellie took another step back as she tried to control her racing heart. “I’m not lying. Rebekah, I  _ swear _ , I haven’t betrayed anybody!” She told them, trying desperately for them to understand her sincerity.

Klaus was watching both Ellie and Rebekah like a hawk. “Given that my sister hasn’t said otherwise, I’m inclined to give you a little bit of faith. But right now, I can’t take any chances.” One of his hands was covering her mouth and nose while the other held her in place. A shriek ripped through her throat as she clawed at his hands. “Don’t fight it, love.” She was trying desperately to talk, but his hand muffled the sounds. “I’m not going to hurt you, little witch. I just need you to sleep.”

Her wide eyes jumped back and forth between him and Rebekah, who was watching with interest. Her lungs felt like they were on fire and her head started to feel light. Ellie could feel herself growing weak as Klaus deprived her of oxygen. She gave one last muffled cry before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed. Klaus caught her with ease, lifting her up in his arms. “Interesting, don’t you think?” Rebekah said curiously as she walked over to the unconscious doppelgänger. “She’s a witch. She could have stopped you.”

Klaus nodded. In truth, he was very aware of Ellie’s decision to not use magic against him. It made him more curious of her. Maybe she was more loyal than he realized. “I am aware.” He told her. “Do you think she knows whatever it is he’s keeping from us?”

“Maybe.” Rebekah said, “But she was honest when she said she hadn’t betrayed us.” She shrugged. “I guess we’re going to find out.”

* * *

Ellie stirred when something near her legs shook. She blinked slowly, before her eyes shot wide at the sight of a chest she was laying on. She and Stefan shot up from where they lay in the back of the moving truck. Klaus was sitting there, watching them with a small smile. “Just give me a chance to explain myself, ok?” Stefan pleaded as he held up a hand. “Listen, Ellie hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“No need. I’m not mad. I’m just curious.” Klaus said calmly. “Though it is good to know that Ellie has been loyal. However, Rebekah seems to think you’re holding onto something. A piece of your old life. The thing is, she’s got flawless instincts, borderline supernatural. So I thought, I would check it out. See for myself what it is you’ve been hiding.” Klaus rose from his seat and walked over to the door, pulling it open.

She and Stefan rose as the sunlight assaulted them. Once her eyes adjusted, she looked at the scene before her and her stomach dropped at the familiar sight of the town square of Mystic Falls. “Oh my god.” Ellie breathed. This couldn’t be happening.

“Welcome back to Mystic Falls, you two.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back in Mystic Falls!!! You guys, I finally wrote Ellie and Elijah's first kiss and I'm literally so excited to get to the point where you guys can read it. As always, please let me know your thoughts and leave a comment!
> 
> Posted: 12/19/20


	46. The Reckoning

**Chapter 46: The Reckoning**

_Summer 2010_

“She’s still alive.” Klaus stormed into the moving truck. Ellie had just woken up after being suffocated yet again, and his rage was more than a bit scary. “She’s _still_ alive!” Klaus was at her in an instant. “All summer and you didn’t feel the need to mention that Elena was still alive?” He asked. “Were you aware she was still alive? Were you?!”

“Yes!” Ellie confessed. “I didn’t know it would affect your hybrid making! Klaus please I swear!”

“And why would you think a silly little thing like that?” Klaus hissed.

“Because you killed her!” Ellie yelled back, shaking with panic and rage. “Damn it, Klaus! Her body was cold! She died! Ok? You killed her! Bonnie’s spell didn’t keep her from dying. It only brought her back. She would have come back even without Bonnie’s interference. Damon had forced her to drink his blood earlier that day. Bonnie only did what she did so that Elena would still be human when she came back!”

Klaus straightened when she shouted back at him. “Well, now you’re going to help me fix it. Where is she?” Ellie hesitated. “Where is she?” He demanded.

Ellie knew he’d find Elena with or without her help. She thought about what the day was, and her heart twisted slightly when she realized she was supposed to be at the school tonight. They’d been looking forward to senior prank night since they were freshmen. “The high school.” Ellie finally confessed. “It’s senior prank night. Everybody’s gonna be at the school.”

“Then we should be there soon.” Klaus said as he got out of the back, closing her and Stefan inside. The truck started moving a second later, and Ellie longed to call Jenna or Caroline. To call anyone and warn them that Klaus was coming. A few minutes later, the truck was opening once again. Both Rebekah and Klaus stood outside. “Come now. I won’t risk any witch business for you to try and warn her. You’re already on very thin ice, little witch. Best not to let it break.”

“I’ll stay here with Stefan.” Rebekah told them as she stepped into the truck.

Klaus didn’t pay her any mind as he kept a firm grip on Ellie’s wrist. “Take me to her.” He insisted. “Now.”

Ellie reluctantly nodded and let her magic search the school. Her heart ached with longing as she felt Caroline and Tyler and Bonnie, but filled with dread when she sensed Elena. “This way.” She told him and he let her lead him in the right direction. It was almost surreal to be back inside the school. Her time there as a normal student felt like it had been so long ago. She stopped outside a set of double doors. “She’s that way, but so is Caroline, Bonnie, and Tyler.”

He nodded and released her arm as she stole a glance through the little window. Not even ten feet from where she was, stood Tyler, grinning to a group of his teammates from football. “I love you!” Caroline’s voice was just loud enough for Ellie to hear. Ellie’s eyes watered slightly. She’d never gone so long without hearing Caroline’s voice.

When Elena was starting to approach, Klaus pulled Ellie back so that Elena would have to get through the door before she’d see her. Elena walked into the hall and her eyes went wide when she spotted her sister. “Ellie?” Elena asked breathlessly. She pulled Ellie into a fierce hug, but Ellie’s panic stopped her from returning it properly. “Ellie, what’s going on? How are you here?”

Ellie tried to warn Elena through her eyes, but there was no time. “There’s my girl.” Klaus drawled.

In an instant, the blood drained from Elena’s face. “Klaus.”

She tried to run, but Klaus moved before she ever moved. “ _You_ are supposed to be dead. What are we going to do about that?” Klaus yanked Elena forward, his grip on her arm surely bruising her. “You put a rather large kink in my plan, sweetheart. The whole point of breaking the curse and becoming a hybrid was to make more hybrids. I haven’t been able to do that. Now, my bet is, it has something to do with the fact that you’re still breathing.”

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it!” Elena gasped. 

“No! Klaus please!” She begged as she tried grabbing at his free arm, trying to slow him down. 

It didn’t faze him and he kept with the speed that had both the girls practically jogging to keep up with his pace. “Not until I know I’m right. But I do have ways of making you suffer.” He said as he dragged both girls towards the gym. “Attention, seniors! You have officially been busted. Prank night is over. Head on home.” He called in his American accent. “You two. I remember you.”

Chad and Dana looked over at him and Dana frowned slightly. “I’m sorry. Who are you?” Dana asked in confusion.

“Oh, don’t worry. I wasn’t in my right head last time we met.” Klaus assured her as his voice went back to normal. Ellie was standing on the other side of Elena as her sister held her hand in a death grip. “Lift your foot up, please, Dana.” He compelled the girl. When she complied, he compelled Chad as well. “If she drops her foot, Chad, I want you to beat her to death. Understood?” 

“No!” Ellie begged.

“Don’t, Klaus. You don’t have to hurt anybody.” Elena pleaded.

“Oh, come on, love. Of course I do.” Klaus replied.

“No, you don’t!” Ellie insisted. “Please, Klaus, please don’t do this.”

Klaus just looked at her without responding. Ellie and Elena held tightly to one another. They didn’t know what Klaus was waiting for. When Dana’s balance faltered, Ellie’s heart stopped for a split second. “Keep it up.” Klaus reminded her.

He said nothing about Ellie helping Dana out. So, as discreetly as she could, she used her magic to keep the girl in place. It wasn’t total control, though she could if she needed to. It was just enough to keep her from falling and to keep her from realizing she wasn’t doing all the work. “Where’s Stefan? What did you do to him?” Elena questioned.

“Stefan’s on a time out.” Klaus told her.

Ellie looked over to the double doors just as they opened and Matt and Bonnie walked inside. “Bonnie, get out of here!” Elena called in warning.

Klaus was behind Bonnie immediately. “Ah, I was wondering when you’d show up.” He told her casually. “Now we can get started. Ah, Dana, why don’t you relax? You and Chad sit tight.” Dana collapsed into Chad’s arms as Ellie made her way over to where Klaus, Bonnie, and Matt stood. “I assume you’re the reason Elena’s still walking around alive?”

“That’s right.” Bonnie confessed. “If you want to blame someone, blame me.”

“Oh, there’s no need for blame, love. Just your witchy interference seems to have caused some undesirable side effects. And since you caused the problem, I’m going to have you find the fix.” Klaus explained.

The doors opened once more, revealing Rebekah forcing Tyler inside. “Tyler!” Ellie yelped.

“Hush now.” Rebekah told him.

“I’d like you all to meet my sister, Rebekah. Word of warning, she can be quite mean.” Klaus told them as Rebekah grinned.

“Don’t be an ass.”

“Leave him alone.” Elena demanded. 

Klaus pulled Tyler forward. “I’m gonna make this very simple. Every time I attempt to turn a werewolf into a vampire hybrid, they die during the transition. It’s quite horrible, actually. Ask Ellie, she’s seen it for herself.”

“Klaus, please don’t do this.” She begged him.

He bit into his wrist and forced Tyler to drink it. “I need you to find a way to save my hybrids, Bonnie. And for Tyler’s sake, you better hurry.”

“Klaus, no!” Ellie’s scream wasn’t enough to cover the sound of Tyler’s neck getting snapped. “Tyler!” Ellie cried as she dropped to the ground, pulling Tyler towards her carefully. “You son of a bitch.” She hissed, but Klaus didn’t seem to care.

“Ellie.” Matt asked worriedly as he pulled her into a hug. “Are you ok?” She sniffed harshly and shook her head. Dana was crying softly as Chad held her. “He killed him.” Matt said. He didn’t look like he knew how to handle what had just happened.

“He’s not dead. Klaus’ blood will turn him into a vampire.” Elena denied.

“And if Bonnie’s successful, he’ll live through his transition.” Klaus announced. “Go on, then. Go and fetch your grimoires and enchantments and what not. I’ll hold onto Elena, for safekeeping.”

Bonnie was looking at Ellie, panic clear in her eyes. Ellie nodded once. “Bonnie, you have to hurry.” She insisted. At that, Matt stood and he and Bonnie ran out of the gym.

“So this is the should-be-dead doppelgänger.” Rebekah said as she walked around Elena. “The original one was much prettier.”

“Enough, Rebekah.” Klaus drawled. “Take the wolf boy elsewhere, would you?”

Rebekah gave Elena a fake smile before walking over to where Ellie was holding Tyler. She gave Ellie a look and then shrugged, and took Tyler’s arm and started to pull him across the gym like a sack of potatoes. At Ellie’s squawk of indignation, Rebekah paused and looked back at her. “He’s dead. It’s not like I’m hurting him.” She said bluntly before continuing on as she was.

“Just ignore her.” Klaus was telling Elena as Rebekah walked away. “Petty little thing.”

“Let me go help, Bonnie.” Ellie suggested.

“No.”

“ _No_?” Ellie asked in disbelief. “What do you mean no?”

Klaus just stared at her. “One way or another, I will get to make my hybrids. And Bonnie is going to be the one to figure it out.” He told her.

Ellie just glared at him as he moved to Elena. “Are you ok?” She asked worriedly. Elena’s heartbeat was racing when Ellie took a hold of her wrist. "Elena, breathe.”

“I was so worried about you.” Elena said as she hugged Ellie again. “How did he find out?”

“Stefan wouldn’t let go.”

“What?”

“Stefan. He’s been holding onto himself. He hasn’t turned into the Ripper like Klaus wanted. Rebekah suggested that there was something here that was keeping him from letting go. He didn’t know you were still alive until we got here.” Ellie confessed. There was something akin to hope in Elena’s expression.

“We’re gonna die.” Dana said softly.

Both Ellie and Elena turned to their two classmates on the ground. “No, no you’re not going to die.” Ellie told her as she and Elena knelt down to their level. She brushed a stray hair out of Dana’s face and for the first time, she used her magic to help calm someone’s emotions. It was like watching Dana be compelled as her breathing suddenly slowed and she stopped shaking as badly.

The door opened and both Ellie and Elena turned towards it. “Stefan.” Elena said as she and Ellie stood back up.

“Klaus.” He called.

“Come to save your damsel, mate?”

Stefan’s expression was carefully controlled. “I came to ask for your forgiveness. And pledge my loyalty.”

“Well you broke that pledge once already.”

“Elena means nothing to me anymore.” Stefan announced. Ellie had a feeling it was the wrong thing to say. He lowered his voice slightly and said, “Whatever you ask of me, I will do.”

Klaus looked pleased. “Fair enough.” He told him as he rose off the bleachers. “Let’s drink on it.” He pointed to Chad and Dana. “Kill them.” Dana and Chad scrambled to their feet. “What are you waiting for? Kill them.”

“No, Stefan, don’t. He’s not going to hurt me. He’s already said-” Elena was cut off as Klaus backhanded her. 

Ellie shoved Klaus away from her. “What the fuck Klaus?!”

Stefan also rushed Klaus, but Klaus had him by the throat instantly. “She means nothing to you?” Klaus asked him. They all knew that Stefan had lied. “Your lies just keep piling up.”

“Let her go!” Stefan begged. “I’ll do whatever you want, you have my word!”

“Your word doesn’t mean much.” Klaus shot back. “Now, I lived by your word all summer. During which time I never had to resort to this. _Stop fighting_.”

The compulsion was unexpected, and Ellie was pulling desperately on Klaus’ arm, trying to get him to release Stefan. “Klaus, please! We’ve done everything you’ve asked all summer! Don’t do this! You don’t have to do this, Klaus, please!”

“Don’t do this. Don’t do this.” Stefan begged.

“I didn’t want to.” He told them sincerely. “All I wanted was your allegiance. Now I’m gonna have to take it.”

“Don’t… don’t…” 

“Klaus, please, we’ve done everything you wanted! We have never said no, you don’t have to do this to him! He’s done everything he’s been told!” Ellie knew she sounded desperate, but if Klaus took away Stefan’s free will, not only was he severely hurting Stefan, he was taking away the only person she’d had to rely on all summer. 

“I didn’t want to do this, Ellie. But I have to.” Klaus said without looking away from Stefan. “You will do exactly as I say when I say it. You will not run. You will not hide. You will simply just obey.”

“No.” Elena gasped. “Stefan.”

“Now kill them. Ripper.” Ellie watched as the emotion faded from Stefan’s face. Never, not a single time during the summer had she seen him look like that. The veins under his eyes shifted as his eyes went dark. Stefan rushed over and Dana’s scream filled the gym. She dropped dead a second later. Ellie took a shaky breath as she looked away. “It’s always nice to see a vampire in his true element. The species has become such a broody lot.”

“No. You did this to him.” Elena denied as Stefan turned to face this once Chad was dead.

“I invited him to the party, love. He’s the one dancing on the table.” Klaus said.

The doors were yanked open violently as the heels of Rebekah’s shoes clicked loudly on the floor. “Where is it?” Rebekah yelled. “Where’s my necklace?”

“What are you talking about?”

“She has my necklace. Look.” Rebekah offered up a phone, and Ellie leaned over to see the picture Rebekah was showing Klaus. It was a picture of Elena and Stefan, with the vervain necklace that Stefan had given Elena on display.

“Well, well, more lies.” Klaus said.

Ellie looked over to Rebekah. “That’s your necklace?” She asked in confusion.

“Yes! Did you know she had it?” The other girl hissed.

“I didn’t know it was yours.” Ellie told her honestly.

Rebekah was _pissed_. “Where is it?” She asked through clenched teeth.

“I don’t have it anymore.”

“You’re lying!” Rebekah sunk her fangs into Elena’s throat before anyone could react.

“Klaus!” Ellie shouted.

He moved instantly, ripping Rebekah away from Elena. “Knock it off!” He shouted.

“Make her tell me where it is, Nik!”

Ellie watched as Klaus knelt down next to her and Elena. It was clear that Klaus was trying to keep his temper in check. “Where’s the necklace sweetheart? Be honest.” Klaus asked Elena calmly.

“I’m telling the truth.” Elena whimpered. “Katherine stole it.”

A wave of understanding rushed over Ellie. Katherine had somehow known about Elena’s necklace actually belonging to Rebekah. But did the girl have a death wish? Why would she steal it? “Katerina.” Klaus sighed. “Of course. Well, that’s unfortunate. If we had the necklace it would make things a whole lot easier for your witch, but since we’re doing this the hard way, let’s put a clock on it, shall we?”

“What are you doing?” Ellie asked worriedly as she pressed a hand to the wound on Elena’s neck.

Klaus walked over and turned on the basketball timer. “Twenty minutes.” He announced. “If Bonnie hasn’t found a solution by then, I want you to feed again. Only this time, I want you to feed on Elena.”

“No!” Ellie shouted.

“You know you want to.” Klaus added.

“No, Klaus. Don’t do this to him!” Elena begged.

Klaus didn’t seem to care. “No one leaves. If she tries to run, fracture her spine.” He turned to Ellie. “Come now, can’t have you interfering.” He took her by the forearm. “Come along.”

Ellie looked between Elena and Stefan in a panic. “No, Klaus, no.” She pleaded, but she didn’t stop him from dragging her along. It would only make things worse.

She watched as Klaus took the phone from Rebekah and set a timer. “That timer should go off when the gym timer goes off. If we don’t have an answer by then, well, for that witch’s sake, she better hope we do.” He handed the phone back to Rebekah “Now, little witch, why don’t you go with Rebekah and keep an eye on the wolf until he wakes? I’ll come collect you before the timer runs out.”

While she was aware that it wasn’t really a question, she wasn’t inclined to fight him on it. She desperately wanted to check on Tyler. “Ok.” She agreed and followed Rebekah down the hallway. Rebekah didn’t say anything as they walked. She took Ellie to one of the chemistry labs. When they walked in, Ellie’s heart pounded violently in her chest. “Caroline!” She yelped.

Caroline turned on her heel, eyes wide at the sight of her best friend. “Oh my god!” The two collided in an instant. “Oh my god! Oh my god! I’ve been so worried about you!” Rebekah watched the interaction with interest. They were _clearly_ very close. “Are you ok?” She asked worriedly.

“I’m ok, have you gotten the…”

“Yeah, I got all of them. I’ve kept Jenna up to date about everything. She’s still been worried sick.” Caroline told her. Caroline looked over to Tyler before looking over at Rebekah. “She said that Tyler was… that he was in transition. I thought Klaus was looking for a pack in Tennessee?”

Ellie nodded as they walked over to Tyler. “We found them on the full moon. He tried to turn the whole pack. They all died. If Bonnie can’t figure out what’s going wrong during the transition process, Ty’s gonna die.” Ellie said softly.

Caroline looked horrified. “You watched that pack die?” 

“Every last one.” Ellie said. The memory of the bloodied faces of shaking werewolves would be burned into her brain for the rest of her life. “It was bad, Care. It was so so bad.” She confessed. “Some of them went insane, but the others… I think somehow they were worse. They started bleeding out of their eyes. We didn’t know it was as bad as it was until it was too late. They bled out. I remember them shaking because they were so cold and couldn’t get warm no matter what they did.”

Her blonde friend looked sick. “Oh my god. Why isn’t it working? He did the sacrifice.”

Rebekah looked smug. “My guess is it has to do with that stupid doppelgänger bitch that stole my necklace that’s still breathing. And when that witch doesn’t have an answer by the time the timer runs out, we’ll get to kill her.”

Ellie ignored how excited Rebekah sounded by that potential outcome. Instead, she replied, “But it doesn’t make sense. Elena _did_ die. So in theory, the sacrifice should have worked. It did work! Otherwise Klaus wouldn’t be the Hybrid right now. So I don’t know what’s going wrong.” The blonde Original reluctantly seemed to realize that Ellie had a point. It didn’t make sense for one part of the curse to be broken and not the other part. But she didn’t comment on it.

The three girls had waited in relative silence as Rebekah kept a check on the timer. Caroline had stayed as close to Ellie as she could get. They didn’t know how long Ellie would get to stay, and they didn’t want to waste any time. Ellie was sitting next to Caroline as they waited for Tyler to wake up. He’d been dead for a while now, which meant he should be waking up any minute. As if on cue, the werewolf jerked up violently, gasping for air. “Hey! Shhh.” Caroline shushed as she ran a hand through Tyler’s hair.

When he calmed down slightly, he asked, “Where am I? What happened? Ellie?”

“It’s me, Ty.” Ellie confirmed as she gripped his hand tightly.

“Tyler…” Caroline started.

“Don’t be shy about it.” Rebekah told her as she cut Caroline off.

Rebekah just smiled softly at them. “What’s going on?” Tyler asked as he tried to catch his breath.

Caroline just shook her head, as if she couldn’t process what was happening. Ellie took pity on her friend, and confessed, “Klaus is turning you into a vampire, a hybrid. You’re in transition.”

Tyler’s expression flickered between panic and horror. “Don’t leave out the hard part, little witch.” Rebekah chided. She looked over to Tyler. “You’ll only survive if your other witch is successful. If not… you’re pretty much dead.”

“You’re going to be ok. Ok? It’s going to be ok.” Caroline insisted as she brushed Tyler’s hair from his face as he sat up on the table.

Tyler was panting as Rebekah piped up. “I wonder how she’s doing. Tick tock goes the gym clock.”

It was after the timer ran out that Klaus stuck his head through the door. “Come now, little witch. We have another doppelgänger to fetch.” Klaus said and Ellie followed him after squeezing Tyler’s hand one last time. In an instant, Ellie could feel Elena running through the school and picked up the pace. Klaus followed, clearly knowing why she was nearly running through the halls. He moved just ahead of her right as they came to Elena, catching her twin by the forearms. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.” He said with a smile.

“Elena, you’re neck.” Ellie said worriedly. She hadn’t gotten the chance to heal it before Klaus had dragged her off. 

“Oh she’ll be fine. Now, where is dear Stefan?” Klaus asked her. Knowing she had no choice, she led him to the cafeteria. Ellie was startled to see the broken piece of a broom protruding from Stefan’s stomach. “Now this is fascinating.” Klaus commented. “I’ve never seen this before. The only thing stronger than your craving for blood is your love for this one girl. Why don’t you turn it off?” 

At Klaus’ suggestion, Ellie felt a panic start to creep in. “No! Klaus, _no_.”

“No!” Stefan’s yell came at the same time as hers.

“Come on.” Klaus said. “Your humanity is killing you! All the guilt must be exhausting. Turn it off.”

“No!” Stefan yelled again.

“Stefan…” Elena said softly. 

Klaus walked over to Stefan. “You’re strong. But you’re not _that_ strong.” He pulled out Stefan’s makeshift stake. “Turn. It. Off.”

Stefan was breathing heavily as he stared Klaus down. To Ellie’s surprise, Stefan shoved Klaus roughly and shouted, “ _No_!”

“Turn it off!” Klaus roared and both girls flinched.

They stood there with bated breath as they waited. Ellie watched as the expression faded from Stefan’s face. He made a strange noise before he leaned back against the wall. “What did you do?” Elena asked in horror.

Klaus turned towards them as Stefan seemed to struggle. “I fixed him. But I think a test is in order, don’t you?” He strode towards them hastily. He stepped behind Ellie and kept a firm grip on her. “Ripper… perhaps you’d like a drink from the doppelgänger’s neck.” Klaus said as he gestured towards Elena.

He pulled Ellie away from Elena as she looked between her sister and Stefan in panic. The veins under Stefan’s eyes went dark as his fangs emerged. “No.” Ellie gasped. “Stefan, no.” But Stefan wasn’t listening. This time, he didn’t hesitate to sink into Elena’s neck. When Elena screamed, Ellie didn’t think. She just reacted. The pain she inflicted on Stefan was stronger than what she’d inflicted on Damon when he’d force fed Elena his blood and when Stefan pulled away from Elena, she snapped his neck. She ripped away from Klaus and rushed to her sister. “Are you ok?”

Elena was shaking as her focus darted between Klaus and Stefan. “I…”

“Well, now that that’s settled. I need one more thing from you Elena.” Klaus said as he produced a vial from his pocket.

Ellie stepped in front of Elena protectively. “What do you want from her?”

“Just a vial of her blood, love. I’d like to test a theory.” Klaus told her placatingly. He held up his hands as if to indicate that he wasn’t dangerous. “Just a vial, and then you can heal her afterwards. Fair enough?” He asked her.

The twins shared a look, before finally agreeing to it. It’s not like Klaus was opposed to taking it by force. “Why do you need her blood?” Ellie asked once she’d healed her sister.

“Come along and see.” Klaus told her. “You, however, Elena, you stay put with good ole Stefan here. We’ll be back soon.” Klaus led her back to the chemistry room and announced, “Well, the verdict’s in. The Original Witch says the doppelgänger should be dead.”

There was a pit of dread in Ellie’s stomach, but she was also confused. If Klaus already knew that, why hadn’t he hurt Elena? “Does that mean we can kill her?” Rebekah asked excitedly.

“No, I’m fairly certain it means the opposite.” Klaus replied.

“What?” Rebekah asked as she took a hold of Caroline, holding the other girl back.

“Rebekah…” Ellie said in warning. She didn’t want to use magic against the Original, but she wouldn’t let Caroline get hurt.

“Call it a hunch.” Klaus said as he offered up the vial to Tyler. “Elena’s blood. Drink it.” Klaus instructed.

Tyler was sweaty and panting as he looked at the hybrid. “No! No, no, no, Tyler, don’t!” Caroline begged.

“If he doesn’t feed, he’ll die anyway, love.” Klaus reminded her. “Consider this an experiment.”

Tyler looked to Ellie for help and she nodded. “It’s ok, Ty. It’s just Elena’s blood. You need to drink.” Finally, he took the blood from Klaus and drank it before he choked. Tyler cried out in pain as he fell to the floor and Ellie’s hand flew out, gripping the sleeve of Klaus’ shirt tightly. “Tyler!” She called in concern, Caroline’s worried cries mingling with her own.

Both she and Klaus knelt down in front of the writhing boy. It was a moment of screaming later before Tyler snapped his head up and growled. “Well, that’s a good sign.” Klaus said, clearly pleased.

“Oh my fucking god.” Ellie breathed as she dropped down onto the ground.

* * *

There was a lot of arguing that went on between Ellie and Klaus before they finally came to a solution. Klaus wanted Elena’s blood. Ellie didn’t want Elena getting hurt. It was a miracle that they compromised with him admitting Elena to the hospital to get her blood drawn, on the agreement that he wouldn’t take so much blood that her life would be in danger. Ellie had slyly reminded him that if he kept her alive, he could get more blood in the long run, giving him a nearly endless supply of blood to create doppelgängers. Stefan was still unconscious in the back of the truck. “So the doppelgänger isn’t the problem. Her blood is the solution.” Rebekah commented.

“Seems so.” Klaus agreed.

“How did you know?”

“Well, you know how much the Original Witch hated me. Do you honestly think I would do anything other than the opposite of what she says?” Klaus asked his sister. Ellie was intrigued. It made sense, the Original Witch had cursed him for a thousand years. But what could he have possibly done to make her hate him so much?

“A thousand years in the grave and she’s _still_ screwing with you.” Rebekah told him.

Klaus turned back to her as Ellie lingered towards the back of the car. “Well, it makes sense if you think about it from her perspective. It was her failsafe in case I ever broke the hybrid curse. The doppelgänger had to die in order for me to become a hybrid, but if she was dead…”

“Then you couldn't use her blood to sire yourself a new species.” Rebekah finished for him.

“Leaving me alone for all time.” Klaus added.

Ellie caught the shift in expression on Rebekah’s face. “Is that what this is about?” The blonde Original asked. “Your obsession with hybrids. You just don’t want to be alone?” Rebekah was clearly confused, and Ellie felt a sudden rush of empathy for the both of them. If Jeremy had said that to her, she probably would have taken it as a personal insult that she wasn’t enough, because she would never leave him. Was that how Rebekah felt? Why did Klaus feel the need to have hybrids in order to not feel alone?

“What I want is to take my girl, take my witch and my hybrid and get the hell out of this one pony town.” Klaus told her. Rebekah was right, Ellie could see it in the way Klaus had straightened his shoulders. “You know, why don’t you, uh, why don’t you and Ellie get the truck? I’ll get Elena.” Rebekah slid off the random truck she’d been on top of.

The two girls walked away without protesting. Ellie wanted to comment about the interaction she’d just witnessed, but didn’t know what to say. “Your necklace…” Ellie finally said. “You’ll get it back.”

Rebekah looked over to her. “What makes you so sure? And why do you even care?”

“Well, for one, Katherine’s going to be back with it eventually, and if I can get it, I’ll give it back to you.” Ellie told her.

“Why would you do that?”

Ellie shrugged. “Klaus doesn’t need the necklace for anything anymore since he’s figured out the solution to his hybrid problem. But it’s been your necklace for a thousand years, and it seems really important to you.” Ellie looked down the necklace draped around her own neck. “This necklace was my mother’s. My birth mother. When we met, she was a vampire and died shortly after, Klaus compelled her to kill herself. This is the only thing I have of hers.” Ellie confessed softly.

“Oh.” Rebekah said quietly. Gone was the girl from earlier, the one so ready to rip Elena’s throat out. Instead, the girl beside her seemed to be full of understanding. After a long moment, Rebekah confessed, “That necklace, the one I want back, it was my mother’s. She gave it to me for safe keeping.”

It was a connection. Something that might seem small to someone else. But now, Rebekah’s distress when she realized the necklace was gone made perfect sense to Ellie. “You asked why I care.” Ellie said after a moment. “If nothing else, now I understand the significance of it. I’d want this necklace back too if I’d lost it. Plus, I have no reason to not want you to have it back.”

They’d just gotten to the truck when Klaus appeared. “Where’s the doppelgänger?” Rebekah asked. “What’s wrong?”

Klaus looked _furious_. “Ellie, you will stay here in Mystic Falls until I return. Keep an eye on Elena, do not let anything happen to her.” He barked the order at them.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Ellie asked in confusion. It wasn’t that her heart was beating rapidly in her chest with the chance of getting to be with her family again, but something must have happened to change Klaus’ mind so suddenly.

“Nothing for you to worry about. Don’t see why you even care. You get to go home to your family. To that aunt you were willing to give your life for.” Klaus reminded her. Klaus went and spoke with a newly awakened Stefan, but neither Rebekah nor Ellie went to listen in. Finally, the excitement started to build in Ellie’s gut. She was getting to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!!!! For those of you celebrating your holidays, I hope you're having a great day!!! Also, it's a small mention, but during the summer, Ellie used the same trick that Bonnie used to warn Elena that Stefan and Damon were coming to let Caroline know that she was still alive and alright while they were gone. Your comments would be a really great Christmas present, so please leave your comments down below and let me know your thoughts! I'll see you all again tomorrow!!
> 
> Posted: 12/25/20


	47. Smells Like Teen Spirit

**Chapter 47: Smells Like Teen Spirit**

_September 6, 2010_

The moment Jenna had opened the door to see Ellie standing there, she broke down into tears. She’d pulled Ellie into such a tight hug that the both of them had struggled to breathe. It was there, in the safety of the home she never thought she’d see again, and in the safety of the arms of her loving aunt, that Ellie broke down. She hadn’t expected it. Hadn’t even realized she was crying until Jenna started to wipe away her tears. 

All at once, the events of the summer hit her, and her resolve broke. For a long time, Jenna held onto Ellie tightly, whispering soft words of comfort to her niece. She’d thought that she’d never get to see Jenna again. She’d thought that she’d come to terms with never going home again. It was only when she returned that she couldn’t avoid the fear she’d felt at the prospect. Ellie didn’t know how to put what she’d felt into words, but Jenna hadn’t asked her to. Instead, that sat crumpled at the bottom of the stairs until Ellie’s panic attack passed.

Once it had, Jenna had calmly helped Ellie explain what was happening, at least what Ellie knew. One call to Damon told them that Elena was now safely at the Salvatore boarding house. After they knew Elena was safe, Jenna managed to get Ellie upstairs and changed before they both climbed into Ellie’s bed. Ellie had fallen asleep in Jenna’s arms, and for the first time in months, Ellie had felt perfectly safe.

In the morning, Ellie had showered and Jenna had helped to get rid of the puffiness in her eyes. When she’d called Caroline on her newly recharged phone, she’d had to yank it away from her ear thanks to Caroline’s excited scream. Caroline had been over in record time, already dressed and ready for school. “Oh my god, ok, so I know it was probably a bit presumptuous of me. But I just couldn’t go school shopping without helping myself.”

Caroline offered up a second bag that Ellie hadn’t paid any mind to. She opened it, revealing everything she’d need for school. “You got me school supplies?” Ellie asked softly.

“I guess it had just been my way of coping. I got it in the hopes that if you came back, you’d have what you need.” Caroline replied. “I guess my wish came true.”

Ellie couldn’t help the way her emotions overwhelmed her as she pulled Caroline into her arms. “I missed you so fucking much.” Ellie muttered. “You have no idea how much.”

Caroline sniffled as she pulled back. When she noticed the puffiness of Ellie’s eyes, she told the witch, “I’m always here, Ellie, if you ever want to talk about what happened.”

Her offer was more appreciated than she probably realized. “Thank you.” Ellie said sincerely, "But if we get into that right now, I’ll likely start sobbing again.” She said it nonchalantly, but she knew that Caroline was worried about her.

“Do Bonnie and Elena know that you’re getting to stay?” Caroline asked as she helped Ellie get ready.

Ellie shrugged. “I don’t know. I know Elena was at the boarding house last night, so if Stefan went there she might know. But Bonnie doesn’t.”

“Oh my god, Bonnie is going to be _so_ excited.” Caroline told her as she tried to keep the mood light. Despite what some people might like to think, Caroline was far from stupid. And she knew Ellie Gilbert better than anyone else. She _knew_ that Ellie was more troubled than she was letting on. She knew that Ellie was doing her best to keep it together. But she was Ellie’s best friend for a reason, and she knew better than anyone else when all Ellie wanted to do was break down and cry.

Given the puffiness in Ellie’s eyes, and the redness of her nose, she’d already done it once. They kept the conversation lighthearted as they got Ellie ready. They were both aware that she wasn’t in the headspace for bad thoughts. “Jenna, we’re about to go!” Ellie called as she and Caroline made their way down the stairs. 

Jenna came out from the kitchen, a steaming cup of coffee in her hands. “You look beautiful, Ellie.” Jenna told her as she set down her cup, pulling the young witch in for another hug.

Ellie sniffed harshly as she willed the tears away. “I love you.” Ellie said as she pulled away.

At least, Jenna was teary eyed too. “I love you more.” She assured the teenager, softly caressing her cheek. “Are you riding with Caroline?”

“Yeah, I wanna catch up with her. I’ll probably go to her place after school.” Ellie replied.

“Ok, be safe.” Jenna told her.

Once they assured her they would, they were off. Caroline filled the ride to the school with excited chatter about how Bonnie was going to freak out. But, Ellie was struggling with how off she felt. She’d been gone all summer and now she felt out of place. Like she didn’t belong in Mystic Falls anymore. Or maybe like she shouldn’t be getting to go to the first day of senior year. Was this what it felt like when vets came home from war? Ellie shook the thought away. Who was she to compare her summer to war? “Ellie…” Caroline’s gentle voice caught Ellie’s attention.

“Huh?”

“We’re at school. I asked if you wanted to go find Bonnie.” Caroline repeated carefully.

It was clear she was trying to not distress Ellie. It was sweet of her. “Yeah, let’s go.” Ellie agreed as she forced a smile onto her face. It didn’t take long to find Bonnie with Elena.

The moment Bonnie had spotted Ellie, her eyes filled with tears. Like her reunion with Caroline, it resulted in a near violent collision. “I thought you were gone.” Bonnie choked. “I didn’t know you got to stay.” Ellie could feel wetness on her shoulder where Bonnie had started to cry.

“Now’s not the time for tears.” Ellie said as she wiped Bonnie’s face. “Don’t want to start senior year looking like you’ve just been dumped now do you?” She joked. 

Bonnie gave her a watery smile before they hugged again. “But how are you here?” Bonnie asked in disbelief.

“I don’t really know.” Ellie shrugged. “Something happened, I guess. Klaus just told me to stay here and keep an eye on Elena and that he’d be back. He didn’t really give me any details. So I’m home until further notice.” She turned to Elena and carefully moved her sister’s hair away. “How’s the neck?” She asked softly.

“It feels fine.” Elena confirmed. “Your spell did the trick.” She confirmed.

There was a small lull of silence as the four girls turned to face the school. “Here we are. Senior year.” Caroline announced.

“Anyone else think this should feel slightly more empowering?” Bonnie asked them curiously.

Caroline gave her a look before saying, “Ok, so prank night was a bust. But we are accepting it and we are moving on.” Caroline informed them. “Besides, we got Ellie back and that’s way better than a prank night gone perfectly.”

As they started to walk, Bonnie replied, “You’re right. I mean, why should I let the fact that my boyfriend is seeing the ghost of his dead girlfriend hinder this experience?”

“Jeremy’s _what_?” Ellie asked in disbelief.

At the same time, Caroline added, “Yes! And why should I let the fact that my boyfriend was turned into a hybrid put a dumper on an otherwise fabulous day.”

“You’re _what_?” Ellie asked, her voice raising in pitch.

“Oh, there’s so much to fill you in on.” Caroline said without missing a beat.

“Today’s our anniversary.” Elena said quietly. The three girls turned as Elena added, “Technically, Stefan and I met on the first day of school last year.”

“Yeah, you win.” Caroline said in defeat. Ellie could remember Elena and Stefan’s first meeting like it was yesterday. Elena had stormed out of the guy’s bathroom, pissed at Jeremy, only to end up blushing at how she and Stefan kept stepping in the same direction. 

“Are you sure you want to be here?” Bonnie asked worriedly “Are _both_ of you sure you want to be here?”

“I have to be here.” Elena said. “I have to put it behind me.”

Yet another similarity to the start of school last year. They were both having to put on a brave face, trying to not let it show what they were actually feeling. Only this time, Ellie was the one that was really struggling. “New year. New life.”

Elena strode off her with her head held high. “What about you, Ellie?”

Ellie took a moment to collect herself. At the very least, she deserved to try and enjoy her old life while it lasted. She had no idea when Klaus was going to spirit her away, and she’d curse herself if she missed out on time she could have had with her friends and family. “I want to be here.” Ellie assured them, and then they were off.

They’d all split up to go to their lockers, and Caroline had apparently needed to put up flyers or something. It was very Caroline of her, to get a jump start on things. She’d been heading towards Elena’s locker when her twin shut it aggressively. “What’s wrong?” Ellie asked.

“Nothing, it’s nothing.” Elena brushed it off with a huff. “Just Damon being Damon.” Ellie controlled her look of distaste. She still wasn’t fond of the older Salvatore. She turned to look at whatever had caught Elena’s attention. Turns out, it was Caroline putting up a poster for the back to school bonfire. “I forgot about the bonfire.” Elena confessed 

Caroline was wide eyed as she replied, “You have to go. It’s our first spirit squad event.” Caroline told her. Had Elena rejoined the squad during the summer? “And it sets the bar for the whole year.”

“Relax, Caroline, I’ll be there.” Elena assured her.

“I don’t know any of the routines.” Ellie commented quietly. Both of the other girls seemed to sober slightly at the reminder, but before anyone could say anything, Tyler swooped in, kissing Caroline soundly. “What the fuck?” Ellie turned to Elena. “When the fuck did that happen?”

As Tyler broke the kiss, he told Caroline, “Happy first day.” He turned towards Ellie, swooping her into a bear hug. Despite her confusion, she was excited to see him when he was writhing in pain. “I’ve missed the hell out of you.” He told her with a large smile.

“I missed you too, Ty.” Ellie replied.

“Is that blood?” Elena suddenly asked.

“Oh my god.” Caroline groaned as she pushed Tyler into the men’s bathroom, Elena and Ellie following behind them.

“What’s going on?” Tyler asked as Ellie and Elena moved to check and make sure the stalls were empty.

“Vampire 101: don’t wear your breakfast to school!” Caroline scolded.

“Chill out. It was just a blood bag.” Tyler explained.

“From where?”

“Rebekah hooked me up.”

Ellie frowned as she moved back to where Caroline and Tyler stood. “Rebekah? Rebekah’s still here?” She asked in confusion.

“What are you even talking to her for?” Caroline added.

“Yeah, she’s still here. And Klaus told her to keep a watch on me. Protect his new asset.” Tyler said, an amused grin on his face.

Caroline made a face. “His what? Why are you amused by this?”

“I’m his first successful hybrid, Caroline. Don’t you think that’s the tiniest bit awesome?” Tyler asked.

“Oh, wow!” Caroline replied. “I cannot believe you just said that.”

Ellie and Elena shared a look, both incredibly uncomfortable to witness the lover’s quarrel. “So, I think we’re gonna go.” Elena said as she passed a thing of paper towels to Caroline. “Good luck.” It was beyond strange to see Tyler and Caroline like that. They’d definitely not been dating when Ellie had left Mystic Falls.

The sense of deja vu was nearly overwhelming when Elena once again, walked straight into Stefan. “Hello, Elena.” He greeted, before turning his strange smile to Ellie. “Hello, Ellie.”

He stepped closer to Elena as she asked, “What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? I’m going back to school.” He informed her. “Go timberwolves.” He said sarcastically.

“What? Why?” 

“Klaus wants me to keep an eye on you and Ellie. I’m just doing what I’m told.” Stefan told her. Why had Klaus told him to keep an eye on Ellie as well?

“I’m going to be late for class.” Elena said as she tried to walk off, only Stefan caught her arm, keeping her in place.

“Oh, uh, class is this way.” He told her.

“Let go of me, Stefan.” Elena insisted.

He didn’t. Instead, he pulled her closer, leaning down slightly to get in her face. “Elena, do you think I want to be a senior for the hundredth time? No. If I don’t have a choice in the matter. Neither do you.”

“I said let go of me.”

“Let her go.” Alaric said as he strolled forward. Ellie hadn’t really gotten a chance to see him last night, but it felt good to see him. Stefan released Elena, holding his hands up for show. 

But instead of walking away, he slammed Alaric into the lockers. “Stefan, stop it.” Elena hissed.

“You’re not going to get in my way. Ok, Ric?” Stefan warned.

Ellie tugged sharply on his forearm. “Stefan, come _on_.” He released the other man and stepped away.

“I will see you all in history.” Stefan said as he smiled pleasantly at them.

* * *

Ellie was nervous by the time history rolled around. She’d had math with Stefan, and while he’d behaved once he’d taken the seat next to her, that class didn’t have anyone else from the group in it. Knowing her luck, history most certainly would. Her concerns were proven correct when she’d walked in to see Caroline, Tyler, and Elena already sitting down. Ellie took the seat in front of Elena as Stefan walked in. “You’re in my seat.” Stefan said to a boy who was sitting on Elena’s right. The boy moved without protest. “Hey, you two.” Stefan greeted as he sat down.

Alaric finished writing on the chalkboard before he turned to the class, wiping his hands to get the dusted chalk off. “Welcome back, seniors. Let’s turn our brains back on, starting with this country’s original founders, the native Americans.” He told them.

“What about the Vikings?” Ellie’s head shot up at the sound of Rebekah’s voice.

“Well, there’s no evidence that Viking explorers actually settled in the United States.” Alaric said as Rebekah took the seat in front of Ellie. “Who are you?” He asked in confusion.

“My name’s Rebekah. I’m new and history is my favorite subject.” She introduced herself politely. Ellie spared a glance back at Stefan, but he just shrugged.

The rest of the day dragged on as first days normally did. As fate would have it, Rebekah ended up sharing English with Ellie. Not only that but Stefan was also in her science class, and they were both in her French class. She could only be grateful that there’d not been another altercation like the one between Stefan and Alaric from this morning. 

It had sucked when Ellie admitted that she wasn’t sure that cheering was the best thing for her right now, but Caroline had been great about it. Unlike her disappointment with Elena last year, Caroline had hugged Ellie tight and told her she understood. Since Caroline had been her ride, and she fully intended on getting all the details from her about what had happened over the summer, she ended up sitting in the grass watching cheer practice.

Ellie was idly watching football practice as she also watched the cheerleaders. The guys were running through drills as the girls stretched. The first after school practice was typically relaxed, just a stretch day and maybe run through a few forms depending on if everyone showed up. “Has anybody seen Dana?” Lisa asked as she led the stretches.

However, Ellie was distracted by Rebekah’s approach. The girl was dressed almost exactly like the cheerleaders. “Sounds like you have an opening on the squad.” Rebekah commented as Ellie pushed herself to her feet. She knew how Caroline could be and wasn’t entirely sure that Caroline wouldn’t literally try to fight the other blonde.

“What are you doing?” Caroline asked suspiciously. It was almost enough to keep the image of Dana’s mangled body out of Ellie’s mind. When Caroline started to whisper, Ellie walked over to them. Klaus would probably kill her if she didn’t keep Rebekah from doing something stupid. “You can’t just come here and infiltrate all our lives.”

“I’m only interested in yours.” Rebekah corrected her. “Your spark, your popularity.” Ellie and Caroline caught the way Rebekah’s attention darted over to Tyler. “Maybe even your boyfriend.”

Caroline looked like she wanted to say something, but Ellie shook her head in warning. It was a bad idea. They both turned to look as Tyler told the coach that he thought practice was done. He would have never talked back to Tanner like that. Tyler didn’t seem to like the thought of practice, and both girls were acutely aware that he’d just compelled the coach in front of everyone. “Caroline.” Ellie said.

“I know. I got it.” Caroline nodded as both practices seemed to end. 

While Caroline headed for Tyler, Ellie went to Rebekah. “Do you have something against Caroline?” Ellie asked curiously as they walked.

“Now why would you think that?” Rebekah asked curiously, tilting her head innocently to the side.

“‘Your spark, your popularity, maybe even your boyfriend’.” Ellie repeated in a faux-British accent. “God that sounds like a bad nineties teen drama, Rebekah.”

“A what?” Rebekah asked.

Suddenly, any irritation she might’ve felt at the other girl for potentially petty teen drama faded as she remembered that Rebekah had only just woken up and the last thing she remembered were the roaring twenties. “It’s a genre of movies, classics in their own right, but sometimes the writing is cheesy. We could watch some. You’ve got a lot to get caught up on.” Ellie offered.

For the most part, Rebekah hadn’t done anything to her. It couldn’t hurt to give the other girl a proper chance. “You want to watch movies with me?” Rebekah asked for clarification.

“I don’t see why not.” Ellie replied with a shrug.

Their conversation was interrupted by Lisa. “So, I heard you saying something about an opening on the team. You wanna try out?”

“I would actually.” Rebekah agreed. “I’m Rebekah.”

“Lisa. All right, some me what you’ve got.” Lisa said and without hesitation, Rebekah did a series of impressive flips. When in the last thousand years had she learned to do that? 

“Come on, Rebekah. You’ve got this!” One of the other girls cheered. They all broke into applause as Rebekah easily dropped into the splits. She saw Rebekah send Caroline a smug smile. It was definitely going to end up being petty teen drama.

“I’ve got to admit, that was really impressive.” Ellie commented when Rebekah made her way to the circle of cheerleaders. All the girls were praising Rebekah, and she was clearly loving it. She just barely spotted Stefan as he fell into place next to Elena. “Rebekah, I’ll be right back.”

Rebekah took one look at Stefan and nodded. Ellie wondered vaguely how Rebekah felt about No Humanity Stefan. When Elena turned on her heel and started running the opposite way, trying to get away from Stefan, Ellie picked up the pace. Stefan was unbothered, jogging backwards as Elena ran. She just reached them as Elena bumped into someone. Stefan had shoved him into the dirt instantly. “Watch it, dick!” Stefan warned.

“Who are you?” Elena demanded.

“I’m the guy who’s been assigned to protect a human blood bag.” Stefan said uncaringly. “I mean, no offense or anything.” Elena just stared at him in disbelief. She walked away without another word. Ellie turned and held up a hand to Caroline, letting the girl know that she’d be back soon.

“Stefan.” Ellie caught his attention and he turned to her.

“What can I do for you?” He asked.

She just sighed, before taking a hold of his wrist and dragging him towards the changing rooms. She led him into the old changing room for the boys, a room mostly for storage after they’d added onto the school. “What the fuck, Stefan?” She asked him.

“What?”

“You do realize that there are people around with _ears_ , Stefan. If you talk too loud they can, in fact, hear you.” She reminded him.

“They don’t have to have ears. I can fix that.” Stefan shrugged. He moved to step out of the room, but Ellie blocked him.

“You realize you sound like a full blown psycho, right?” She questioned.

Stefan sighed heavily as he looked at her. “Ellie, I _don’t_ want to be here. Like at all, but I’ve got no choice. Excuse me if I’m not exactly in the mood to play nice.”

For a moment, she just stared at him. Had it really been a little over a week ago that Stefan had held her as she cried? The Stefan that had woken her out the nightmare where Jenna had died? He’d been so kind as he assured her that Jenna was just fine, that she’d saved her aunt. He’d let her stay curled to his side for the rest of the night. It was one of the more restful nights she had gotten. It was hard to find that version of Stefan as she stared at his blank, somewhat annoyed expression. “We’re friends, Stefan.” She said finally.

“Are we now? Because I’m pretty sure we spent nearly a year hardly saying anything to each other. Don’t know how exactly that breeds friendship.” He said sarcastically.

“It doesn’t.” She agreed. “But the shit from this summer does. I know Klaus compelled you, and I know you’re still in there. I just want you to know that I’m not gonna give up until you’re back.”

He scoffed. “Never gonna happen, but it’s adorable how optimistic you are.” He brushed past her but Ellie caught his wrist before he could leave. “What?”

“Maybe try being less of a dick to Elena. You’ll thank me for it when you snap out of this.” With that, she let him go and he was gone.

* * *

Caroline had filled Ellie in on what had gone on during the summer. She’d said it was mostly boring, like any other summer in Mystic Falls normally was. Bonnie had apparently spent the summer with her dad’s family, which meant that Bonnie had been bored out of her mind. Ellie knew there was something that Caroline wasn’t telling her. But, Caroline was being kind enough to not press Ellie about the crap that had happened during the summer, so she owed it to Caroline to do the same.

There would be a point where they both talked about their trauma. They never kept anything from each other for long. Caroline had insisted that they go to the bonfire, that it would be fun. Ellie had reluctantly agreed. Caroline had dropped Ellie off back at home to get ready. “You look pretty.” Jenna commented.

Ellie smiled as she ran the straightener through her hair one last time. “Thanks. Caroline really wants us to have fun tonight.” Ellie agreed. She paused and turned towards her aunt. “Jenna…”

“Mmhmm?”

“What happened to Jeremy?” Ellie asked. Jenna looked a little pale at the mention. “Jenna, what happened?”

Jenna sighed. “The day you had to go… to Klaus… when Damon was bitten. Liz was after Damon. He and Damon were in The Grill, Liz shot for Damon, but his Jeremy instead.”

“What?” Ellie asked as she stumbled into the counter.

“Caroline tried to save him with vampire blood, but it didn’t work. But Bonnie managed to bring him back with the help of those witches. The one from that house we were in. They helped her.” Jenna explained.

“And he died.” Ellie said, not really wanting to process the information. “And now he’s seeing ghosts?”

“Yeah.” Jenna confirmed. “He’s ok though.” The conversation slowly shifted back to normal topics before Ellie left for the party. 

When Ellie arrived, she sent a text to Caroline once she couldn’t find any of the group. She was, however, surprised to see the blonde Original next to the keg filling up a cup. “You came.” Ellie said as she walked over to the blonde.

“You sound surprised.” Rebekah replied.

“Well, I doubt this is the kind of party you’re used to.” They both knew what Ellie meant.

Rebekah downed the contents of her cup in one go. “Well, might as well try new things. Though this beer is piss poor.” She made a face of disgust, but filled her cup once more anyways. “Where’s all your friends?”

“Don’t know. Guess they’re running late.” Ellie confessed.

The blonde was glancing around the party, and neither of them were aware of Stefan’s approach until he snatched the cup out of Rebekah’s hands. “You alright there?” He asked her.

“I thought Tyler would be here.” Rebekah confessed.

“Tyler, now, huh? Fickle.” Stefan commented as he filled her cup.

“When you’re willing to give me the time of day again, we’ll talk.” Rebekah told him. “Until then, a girl has needs.” 

Ellie scrunched up her nose in disgust, but didn’t comment since Elena pushed past Rebekah, filling a cup of her own. “Excuse me.”

“Elena, hi. What are you doing?” Stefan asked.

“I’m having fun, Stefan. You got a problem with that?” Elena shot back.

“Alright, take it easy.” Stefan instructed. “We both know you’re kind of a lightweight.”

Elena scoffed. “Really? You think I’m going to let a blood addict tell me how to drink?” She snapped. Rebekah and Ellie shared similar looks of disbelief as Elena tossed the nozzle at Stefan and strode off.

“Did you know she was coming?” Stefan asked Ellie with a pointed look.

She sighed heavily. “No, Stefan. I didn’t know. I was with Caroline all afternoon until I went home to get dressed for the bonfire. She wasn’t there while I was home.”

“Well, as much as I love a good quarrel. I want to have fun tonight. Are you coming Ellie?” Rebekah asked as she offered her hand for the witch to take.

Ellie made a face, before shrugging and taking the offered hand. She allowed Rebekah to pull her away from Stefan, and when he was out of sight, she asked, “What was that about?”

“What was what about?”

“Telling Stefan you were looking for Tyler.” Ellie explained.

“There was nothing about it. Just the truth.” Rebekah denied.

They were sitting next to a small fire. “That’s not true.” Ellie replied. Rebekah looked up at her angrily, ready to protest when Ellie cut her off. “Rebekah, you _just_ woke up. The last thing you remembered was being in love with Stefan. There’s no way you aren’t still in love with him.” Rebekah’s mouth snapped shut. “Is that part of why you seem to hate Elena so much? Because Stefan is… was in love with her? Or is it because he gave her your necklace?”

“You don’t know me.” Rebekah snapped defensively.

“No, I don’t. But understanding the emotions of a teenage girl is easy when you’re also a teenage girl.” Ellie tried to make Rebekah understand. “I’m not judging you, Rebekah. You have every right to be upset because the person you love is with someone else. You have every right to be pissed at Klaus for compelling Stefan and daggering you. I’d probably be angry if I were in your shoes too.”

Rebekah looked at Ellie. Really looked at her. The doppelgänger before her seemed incredibly sincere. Unlike the others before her, or even her sister currently, this one seemed to not have an ulterior motive. That didn’t mean she trusted her in the slightest, but it made her want to rip out her throat a little less. “Well, Stefan’s kind of being an ass right now. So, not particularly interested in that.”

“Understandably so.” Ellie agreed. “But modern times can be fun, even in a lame small town.” Rebekah hummed in acknowledgment as she looked around. “I’m gonna go get a drink, will you be ok by yourself for a minute?”

The vampire rolled her eyes at the witch. “Yes, I am a big girl. I’ll be fine.”

“Here, why don’t you try roasting marshmallows while I’m gone. They’re really good.” Ellie suggested.

“Roasting marshmallows?” Rebekah asked suspiciously. “How are you supposed to do that?”

Ellie snatched up a bag of marshmallows from the pile of s’mores supplies and passed it to Rebekah after pulling one out of the bag and shoving it on a stick. “Just hold it over the fire till it gets all soft and delicious and enjoy.”

Rebekah wrinkled her nose as she took the offered stick. “Are you sure that’s sanitary?” She asked.

“You’re a literal Viking, and a thousand year old vampire. Even if it wasn’t, you couldn’t exactly get sick from it.” Ellie scoffed. “I’ll be back.” With that she was off, looking for literally any of her friends. She stumbled upon Lisa, who was drinking happily. “Hey, have you seen Caroline?” She asked curiously.

Lisa was wide eyed, her pupils incredibly large. “Um… I haven’t, but I saw Bonnie around somewhere I think.” The girl was already struggling to speak normally.

“Do you know which way she went?” Ellie asked, but Lisa shook her head. “Thanks anyways.” Ellie walked away from her, pulling out her phone and dialing Caroline’s familiar number. Using her phone almost felt strange. She’d gone all summer hardly using a phone, maybe it was just her not being used to it anymore. When Caroline didn’t answer, Ellie groaned. “Come on, man.” She huffed as she sent the other girl a text.

She tried calling Bonnie, Tyler, Jeremy, and even Matt trying to get a hold of someone. No one answered. She jumped when her phone vibrated, but frowned when she saw a text from Stefan.

_Your sister is wasted. I’m taking her home._

Ellie sighed and headed for the parking lot. She might as well go with them since everyone had disappeared. Maybe she could convince Stefan to just let her drive Elena home. The sound of flames caught Ellie’s attention. A loud bang had her running through the parking lot. “Holy shit!” Ellie yelped as she rushed over to the car. “What the hell is happening?”

“I don’t know! The car just caught fire!” Alaric shouted as he helped Elena out of the car. “Hurry up before it blows!”

“ _Phasmatos motus incendiamos!_ ” Ellie chanted and for a brief moment the flames receded, before bursting back to life. “What the fuck?” The flames were higher now and Ellie and Elena shared a look of panic. “We have to get Stefan!” Ellie shouted as she and Elena reached into the back of the car and pulled him out. They managed to the edge of the bleachers before it blew, and Ellie’s hand flew up and a protective barrier followed. They watched as glass hit the barrier, dropping harmlessly to the ground.

“Oh my god.” Elena breathed, her hand gripping Ellie’s tightly.

Damon was there in an instant, checking over Elena for injuries. “We should go.” He told them. “Sabrina, you can head on home. I’ll take Elena and Alaric to the boarding house to get them cleaned up before sending them home.”

Ellie frowned slightly, looking over at the three others. Alaric nodded reassuringly. “We’ll be fine.” He told her. “We can take Damon’s car.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.” Elena replied. “We’ll be fine.” As everyone turned to watch the burning remains of Alaric’s car, Ellie nearly jumped out of her skin to feel Stefan’s hand in hers. She turned and looked at him in surprise as he squeezed her hand. It was exactly like what they’d done all summer to let each other know that they were ok. She squeezed back, but didn’t comment as the four of them walked away. It gave her hope, more so than Stefan probably realized. Maybe he was still in there after all, buried deep, but still there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, as always, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please leave a comment below and let me know what you thought! Also, thank you guys for over 400 Kudos! As a reminder, there will also be a double post next week for New Years and then regular posting. I also just realized this is my last post for this story in 2020. That's insane.
> 
> Posted: 12/26/20


	48. Ghost World

**Chapter 48: Ghost World**

_ September 7, 2010 _

To her surprise, she’d woken up oddly early. It was even more surprising when she found Jeremy sitting awake on his bed. “Jer?” Ellie called softly as she knocked on his door.

He looked like he’d been caught doing something bad, so she assumed that he’d most likely been talking to either Anna or Vicki. “Hey, Ellie. What’s up?” He asked as she walked further into the room.

“Can we talk?” Ellie asked.

“About what?”

“About what happened when I was gone with Klaus.” She explained. He looked hesitant, but there was an ache in her chest that wouldn’t go away. She couldn’t think of a way to ease into the conversation, so she blurted out, “You  _ died _ , Jer. You died and I wasn’t there to save you.” 

The pain was clear as day in her voice. It startled Jeremy. He thought that she was going to have something to say about the Anna, Vicki, Bonnie situation. He didn’t think that that was what was on her mind. “Ellie…”

Her thoughts were racing, leaving her a bit more blunt than usual. “No, Jer, you don’t get it. I’m supposed to protect you. I’m your big sister, that’s my job. I promised mom and dad I’d look out for you and I’ve failed, twice now.” She took a hold of his hand, pushing her thumb into his wrist and relaxed slightly as she listened to the steady beating of his heart.

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to him. “You’re the best big sister I could have ever asked for. You were there for me in ways Jenna and Elena weren’t when I was going through my druggie phase. You didn’t yell or make me feel like crap. You have  _ always _ taken care of me. And you’ve always done it amazingly. How are you gonna sit there and blame yourself for being gone for the summer when you saved Jenna’s life?” He asked her in disbelief. “If anything, you saved me from a whole lot more trauma than what I already have.”

She felt her resolve shake, and tried hard to keep it together. “I missed you so much.” She said softly.

“I missed you too.” He confirmed. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get to see you yesterday, I got called into work because Nick got sick.”

For a long moment, they just sat together as Ellie pulled her emotions together. She didn’t need to break down again. There was too much going on right now. Once she was sure she wasn’t going to dissolve into tears, she asked, “It’s ok, you’re here now and so am I. So what’s this whole, Anna, Vicki, Bonnie situation?”

He groaned but nodded. “After I… after I died and Bonnie brought me back, I started seeing ghosts. Mostly Anna and Vicki. Vicki told me that she could come back if I helped her. She told me she was all alone and scared and I just wanted to help her. I told Matt about it and I guess he wanted to see her too, so he nearly drowned himself to see her. It worked, and she had apparently made a deal with a witch on the other side to get to stay here, if she helped the witch kill Elena.”

“What?” Ellie said in disbelief.

Jeremy explained the rest of the situation with Matt and Vicki before coming back to Anna. “I know I shouldn’t be talking to her, but Ellie, she’s all alone over there. She’s scared and has no one and Bonnie’s so mad at me for spending time with Anna but…”

“I’m gonna cut you off right there.” Ellie said as she held up her hand. “Jer, I’m not mad that you’re talking with Anna.”

“You’re not?”

“You want my honest opinion?”

“I’m not sure, but I probably need it.” Jeremy replied.

She gave his hand a squeeze as she explained, “You loved Anna, right?” He nodded in confirmation. “She died without you getting to say goodbye. Her death hurt, probably more than some of the others understand. Because yes, a lot of us have lost someone. But for most of us, the people we lost weren’t the people we were in love with. If I could get the chance to spend time with the people I’d lost, I’d take it without a second thought. You’re not the bad guy for wanting to get a little bit more time with someone you’ve lost. It’s natural.” Some of the tension left his shoulders, at least it had until she spoke again, “But…”

“Oh god.”

“It’s nothing bad. Listen to me, Jeremy, and answer honestly. Are you still in love with Anna?” She asked curiously. “It’s not a bad thing if you are.”

He didn’t answer right away, but when he did, he nodded. “I am.”

“Then it’s not fair to be with Bonnie. You’re hurting all three of you. Yes, Anna is a ghost, but that doesn’t change the way you feel about her. Now, I’m not saying have a ghost relationship. But when all of this is over, you need time to get over how you feel about Anna, and dating Bonnie isn’t going to make what you feel for Anna change any faster.”

“But I care about Bonnie.”

“I know you do, that’s exactly why I’m telling you this, because I know you never intended to hurt her. She has every right to be upset. Her feelings are valid, but you and Anna never broke up. She died. If Anna were still alive, I have no doubt that you’d still be with her.” Ellie explained.

“So what are you telling me to do? Dump Bonnie for a relationship that literally cannot work?”

Ellie gave him a look. “No, I’m telling you that being with Bonnie when your heart is still with Anna is only going to hurt you both in the end. I know you care about her, and she cares about you. I think you need time to get over Anna, and that a relationship with someone else isn’t something you’re ready for. Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”

“I think so.” Jeremy replied. “I don’t wanna hurt Bonnie.”

“It’s better to be honest with her than lie.” Ellie told her. 

A good while later, Alaric and Jenna found the siblings curled up in Jeremy’s bed, sound asleep. “I’m so glad she’s back.” Jenna said softly as she wrapped her arms around Alaric’s waist.

He smiled fondly at her. “Me too. She deserves a chance at a normal year.” He replied. “Hate to wake them up.”

“They’ll get over it.” She grinned as she walked over to the duo and yanked the blankets off of them.

“What the hell?” Jeremy shouted as Ellie let out a vaguely inhuman groan.

“Rise and shine sleepyheads, we’ve got things to do.” Jenna chirped brightly.

“Rise and shine bad, sleepy good.” Ellie groaned as she hid her head under her pillow. Jeremy made a grunt of agreement as he flopped back onto the bed.

“That might have worked when you were five, but you’re not. It’s the ‘Night of Illumination’ and Carol will kill us if we don’t show.” Jenna reminded them. “Just be glad you’re not having to volunteer this time.”

Ellie reluctantly removed her head from where she’d hidden, only to glare at Jenna. “If you spontaneously combust, that’s probably my fault.” Jenna took Ellie by surprise, latching on to the younger girl’s ankles and pulling her down the bed. Ellie yelped before glaring at Jenna. “Do you see how she treats me?” She asked Alaric with a huff.

“Better you than me.” Jeremy snorted. He tumbled off the bed a second later. “That’s cheating!” He shouted as Ellie hopped up, darting into the bathroom. “No magic!”

“You snooze, you lose!” She shot back from the other side of the door.

* * *

Ellie had been with Jenna, Alaric, and Jeremy as they listened to Tobias Fell speak. Elena had joined them just as the older man had started to talk once more. It was interesting to watch Jeremy chuckle under his breath at something the others didn’t understand. If she had to guess, Anna had probably been there, making snarky comments to make him laugh. “Can we go and get a drink or something? I didn’t drink anything before we left the house.” Ellie complained as she looped her arm through Jenna’s.

“That is a great idea.” Jenna agreed. “I’m starving.” The five of them walked over to The Grill and quickly took a table out on the patio since the weather was so nice. They were placed at a long table, one of the ones with six seats and they all ordered their drinks quickly.

“Hey, Jer, I need you to help me with something.” Elena said as she started pulling stuff out of her bag.

“What’s up?”

“I’ve been going through Stefan’s old journals. Every single time that he’s gone off the rails in the past, his best friend Lexi’s been the one to bring him back.” Elena explained.

Jenna looked intrigued. “So where is she now that we need her?” She asked.

“She’s dead.” Jeremy said in understanding. “And you want me to try and reach her, don’t you?”

“I thought if I knew how she did it, maybe I could help him.” Elena confessed.

Jeremy didn’t look so sure that it was a good idea. “Look, I don’t even know if she’s on the other side.”

“Is that what it’s called?” Elena asked.

“That’s what Anna calls it. There’s not like an official brochure or anything.” He shrugged.

“So what is it? Like some sort of supernatural purgatory?” Alaric questioned.

“Anna said it’s like being here with all of us, only we can’t see her or hear her.” Jeremy explained. “And she can’t interact with anyone. She’s all alone.”

Ellie felt bad for the dead vampire. It sounded like a rough place to be. She wasn’t so oblivious to see the way he glanced over to the empty seat across from him. “Vicki could interact. She blew up my car.” Alaric reminded him.

“Well, Vicki had help from a witch on the other side. Anna… she’s doing this all by herself.”

“I’m just saying, maybe we learned our lesson about summoning dead people.” Alaric’s tone sounded off to Ellie, but she wasn’t sure what about it was wrong.

It wasn’t a bad plan on Elena’s part. “But, Lexi could be able to help if Jeremy could reach her and just talking to her wouldn’t exactly be giving her a physical foothold in this world. And no humanity Stefan isn’t exactly a super fun friend to deal with. Besides, if Lexi spent as much time as it seems like on bringing Stefan back from his Ripper side, she sounds pretty decent to me. If she were a bad vampire, she wouldn’t care that Stefan was killing a bunch of people, but she did and repeatedly saved him from himself.” Ellie defended.

Jenna was nodding along in agreement. “It would be safer for everyone if Stefan was back to normal. I think it’s worth a shot.” Ellie caught the odd look on Alaric’s face but didn’t comment on it.

“Do you think it’s even possible to contact Lexi?” Elena asked.

“I don’t know.” Jeremy replied. “I didn’t have an emotional connection with her. I never even met her.”

“Can we just drop it, please?” Alaric asked. 

Ellie made a face, but said nothing as Elena replied, “No, I can’t drop it, Ric. I don’t know what else to do.”

“Don’t you think we have a few too many dead vampires in our past to be sitting here thinking of them watching us?” Alaric shot back.

Jenna and Ellie shared a look. Neither of them were particularly sure why Alaric was so aggressively against the idea of contacting Lexi. Elena finally noticed the way Jeremy was focusing on the empty chair and asked, “Is Anna here right now?”

There was a pause before Jeremy assured her, “No, no. I’m going to go, uh, check my work schedule.”

Jeremy had just walked inside when Stefan appeared, taking the open seat next to Ellie. “Hey guys. Who forgot to invite me to the family summit?” He asked before he noticed his journals on the table. He flipped one open and commented, “Oh, wow. All these words. I forgot how much I used to care.”

“I didn’t.” Elena said softly.

“You know, Elena, it’s probably best you not torture yourself with memories from the past. It’s best we both just move on and accept things as they are.” Stefan told her.

“You don’t have to be here, Stefan.” Alaric commented.

“You know what, Alaric, you’re right. I don’t.” Stefan agreed as he cleared his throat. “But Elena and Ellie are here and I look out for them.”

“I thought you were just looking out for Elena?” Ellie asked in confusion.

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Haven’t I already mentioned that I’ve also been instructed to be your babysitter as well? Besides, there’s going to be people everywhere tonight. So there’s going to be lots to eat.” At their shocked expressions, Stefan laughed. “I’m kidding. I’m kidding. Loosen up.”

As he walked away, Elena looked towards Ric with a determined expression. “I can’t drop it, Ric.”

“He does seem really out of it.” Jenna commented. “He doesn’t seem like himself at all.”

“He’s not himself.” Ellie corrected her. “He’s currently the worst version of himself.”

They sat there, in relative silence as they waited for Jeremy to come back. Ellie found her thoughts drifting towards Dr. Martin and Luka. Were they on the other side too? The guilt clawed at her insides, threatening to consume her. “Are you alright?” Jenna asked worriedly as she reached over to take a hold of Ellie’s hand.

“Yeah… yeah I’m ok. I’m just gonna take a walk. I need a breather.” Ellie explained as she pushed away from the table without another word. Her head started to ache as she drifted off towards the woods. She stumbled into someone. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking…” She looked up to see Luka’s amazed face staring back at her. “Luka…”

“Ellie?” Luka asked. “You can see me? You can feel me?”

“You’re here?” She asked shakily as she reached out to cup his cheek. He smiled warmly at her, and it was like the dam broke. A choked sob ripped through her as she collapsed in his arms. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry.” She apologized repeatedly as he held her. “You weren’t supposed to die, you just wanted her back. I’ve missed you so much. You didn’t deserve this.”

He held her tightly as she tried to hold him even closer. They were dropped in the middle of the woods where they wouldn’t be heard. “Hey, hey, it’s not your fault.” He assured her.

“Yes it is!” She insisted, her tears blurring everything. “I should have undaggered Elijah sooner. I should have been the one to do it. If I had just found him sooner, you wouldn’t have died and then your dad wouldn’t have gotten so upset and he wouldn’t have died. It’s all my fault.” She sobbed, burying her face in Luka’s neck.

She felt someone caressing her hair and she looked up to see Dr. Martin kneeling next to her and Luka. “My son’s right, you know. Ellie, please don’t blame yourself for my actions. I was a man in grief and there was nothing you could have done to prevent my death. Neither my death nor Luka’s were your fault. We’ve kept an eye on you all this time. We’ve seen how strong you are.” He told her.

Ellie couldn’t help the scoff she made. “Strong? I let all of those people die.”

“You saved your aunt. You did your best to help the people you could. Klaus is a dangerous man, Ellie. No one could blame you for not being able to stop him. Not even Elijah could.” Dr. Martin chided softly. “You shouldn’t have to go through so much when you’re so young. You were kind to my son and I when you didn’t have to be. You gave us a proper burial when we had no other family to do so for us.”

The last thing she had expected was for him to be aware of that. “You know about that?” Ellie asked quietly.

“We don’t have any other living family. So we keep a check on you.” Luka explained as he held her close. “We know you go to visit our graves constantly. We listen when you’re talking to us.” He told her. Another sob shook her as she held onto him. “I’ve missed you too.”

Dr. Martin took a hold of her hand, causing her to look at him once more. “Ellie, we aren’t suffering. We’re ok over here.”

“But Jeremy said Anna was all alone and-”

“Anna has unfinished business. Once it’s resolved, she can be at peace if she wished.” Dr. Martin told her.

“What about you?” Ellie sniffed. “Are you at peace?” 

“We wanted to make sure you were ok. That’s our unfinished business.” Luka told her.

“You’re still here because of me?”

“We’re still here because we care about you.” Dr. Martin told her. To be honest, he did seem far calmer than he had before he’d died. “Ellie, we will always watch over you whether we were at peace or not.”

* * *

Ellie spent a while in the woods with Dr. Martin and Luka. It had been more therapeutic for Ellie than she’d thought was possible. With the time she spent clutching Luka as they talked, it felt like a little piece of her heart put itself back together again. Their deaths had clearly impacted her more than she’d expected it to. “There’s someone else that’s been watching over you.” Dr. Martin said softly.

“What?” Ellie asked in confusion as she looked up at him. He was staring at something over her shoulder, and she gasped at the person standing behind her. “Isobel?” She choked.

Isobel looked different. She looked warmer and her eyes were watering. “My baby girl.” Isobel said softly as she held out her arms. Ellie scrambled out of Luka’s arm, nearly throwing herself into Isobel. Isobel held her tightly. “My baby girl, my darling baby.” Isobel sighed in relief as Ellie hugged her. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited to get to hold you like this.”

“I couldn’t save you, I tried.” Ellie whimpered. The guilt she felt over Isobel’s death had plagued her the same way Dr. Martin’s and Luka’s deaths had. “I’m so sorry.”

“Baby, I was already gone.” Isobel assured her as she pulled back. “The Isobel you met… she was never the Isobel I wanted to be. I turned it off because it was easier. I was weak and because of that it cost me my opportunity to know you. I’m so sorry for that.”

“It’s not your fault.” Ellie told her. She refused to release the older woman.

Isobel smiled softly at her. “Yes it is. I made the decisions I made. I have to own up to that. All I ever wanted was the chance to spend time with you as me. As the me my parents raised, the me that gave birth to my two beautiful daughters. You’ve been so strong, so incredibly strong and I’m so proud of you. You get that strength from my mom, maybe from me too. We never let people break us, even when it would be easier to do so.”

“But I am broken.” Ellie replied. “I’m tired of fighting. It’s  _ so _ hard. And I need to help Stefan and I have to try and protect everyone from Klaus and his anger issues. And I just feel like people keep dying around me and I keep failing to save them.” Her heart was hurting as much as it had when she’d originally broken down with Dr. Martin and Luka.

“You have so much to learn, Ellie. You have so much power in you. I can see it so clearly now. You get that from my family and I’ve never been so proud. I never thought I could be blessed with such an amazing daughter, but here you are. My beautiful, kind, strong,  _ brave _ daughter. You’re a fighter like our family has always been. All the way back to Katherine and before we have  _ fought _ and we will keep fighting because you are strong enough to survive. You’re not alone, even when you feel like you are. I’ll watch over you and whenever it's time for you, I’ll welcome you with open arms and we’ll get to go home.” Isobel said as she pressed a kiss to Ellie’s forehead. “You’re stronger than all of this and I am  _ so _ proud of you.”

“I don't feel like it.” Ellie sighed as she held onto Isobel. Whatever Matt or Jeremy or whoever the hell had done, she was so grateful for it. She’d needed this more than she realized.

“You don’t always have to feel strong to be strong. You and Katherine are more similar than you realize. You’re good for each other.” Isobel told her.

“You’re keeping an eye on Katherine, too?”

Isobel gave her a devilish grin. “Well, Katherine can be rather entertaining to watch sometimes.” Ellie laughed softly at the comment. “You have your grandmother’s smile.” Isobel informed her. “My mom, god, she’s a great woman. Makes the best food in the world and by the time Christmas is over you’ll have gained ten pounds of pure cookies.”

To Ellie’s surprise, her heart didn’t twist with grief. Instead, there was a warmth as she watched her mother talk about her grandmother with such fondness. “Do you think she’d like me?”

“Oh my god! My parents would love you! The moment my mom knew you could cook she’d have you in the kitchen for ages, especially at the holidays. She’s big on holidays, always goes all out. God my dad would get so mad when she’d whip the Christmas tree out the day after Thanksgiving.” Isobel was grinning as she held Ellie.

“They sound great.” Ellie agreed. The two of them ended up sitting in the dirt as they talked, though Ellie never let go of the other woman. Dr. Martin and Luka were still there, and the latter didn’t protest while Ellie held onto his hand like a lifeline. The whole thing was odd, but also comforting. They all knew their time was limited, but for the first time since people started dying all around her, it felt like she could breathe.

They’d been there so long that the sun was starting to set, though it took her a while to realize with the way the trees were already blocking out the light. “There’s one more thing, Ellie.” Dr. Martin said as he caught her attention.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about me already?” A familiar voice called. Ellie looked at the place the sound came from, spotting a familiar face as well as an unfamiliar one.

Ellie hadn’t dared to hope she’d get the chance to see her. “Miss Sheila.” She said shakily as she broke away from the others, holding the older witch tightly. “Of course I didn’t forget you, I just didn’t know if I…”

“I’ve been with Bonnie. Someone needs to help her clean up the mess she’s made.” Sheila said softly as she wiped away the tears that had escaped. “Stop your crying dear, you’ll make yourself sick.”

“I tried to talk to you, right after everything happened but…”

“But I did not think it would be wise.” The soft spoken voice of the woman beside Sheila took Ellie by surprise. 

She  _ knew _ that voice. “Emily?” Ellie asked in disbelief as she took in the woman. It was clear her clothes were easily mid to late 1800s. Stefan and Damon had known Emily back then. She was beautiful, breathtakingly so. Her features were soft and she reminded Ellie strongly of Bonnie. “You’re Emily?”

“I am.” Emily confirmed.

“What are you doing here?” Ellie asked in confusion.

“I’m here to look after you.” Emily said simply. It was strange to realize that there were so many people on the other side watching her back. “There are dangers ahead. You must be careful.”

Ellie frowned. “Wait what dangers?”

Sheila sighed and took a hold of Ellie’s hands. “Ellie, there’s a witch over here. A dangerous witch, and powerful. Older than most of us. She took advantage of Bonnie when Bonnie brought Jeremy back.”

“The witch that was helping Vicki?” Ellie asked.

Both Bennett witches nodded as the other three walked over to them. “When Bonnie had to send Vicki back, this witch cracked the door wide open leaving it so that anyone could get back through. It’s why we’re all here right now.”

“What does the witch want?”

“That’s Original vampire business. You don’t need to get involved in it.” Sheila warned.

“If you guys have been watching me, then you know the deal that I made with Klaus to save Jenna. If he’s in danger, I could be as well, the others could be.” Ellie argued.

“That’s not why I came to you.” Sheila replied. Ellie tilted her head in confusion. “I watched you struggle, Ellie. I have watched you struggle for a while now. You’ve kept it to yourself for so long. I came to let you know that I’m ok, but more importantly, darling you need to open up. You shouldn’t have to deal with your struggles all alone. You have people that are still here that love and care about you. Let them in. Let them help you.”

“But…”

“I don’t have much time, Bonnie and Caroline have gone to get that necklace so that we can close the door once more. But I knew I needed to talk some sense into you.” Sheila said. “Once the door is closed, Emily will still be at the house to help you should you need it, but for the most part, the rest of us will go back to being mostly separated by being on the other side.”

Emily didn’t say much, but then again, Ellie hadn’t gone through the trauma of losing her. It was nice to know that after this was over, Emily would still be with her. “The necklace?” Ellie questioned.

“Elena’s necklace.” Sheila clarified.

“What do you need the necklace for?”

“We have to destroy it to close the door. It is a talisman for the witch.” Emily explained.

Shelia pulled Ellie into a hug. For the first time in so long, Ellie didn’t feel so broken. It wasn’t hard to realize that she’d felt so awful because she blamed herself for their deaths. But they were here and they were ok and they didn’t blame her. They didn’t hate her. They were proud of her. “You’re strong. You’re one hell of a witch. Don’t ever forget that.” Sheila told her. Ellie didn’t feel like crying anymore, though she knew there was a chance that she would once they were gone.

“You promise you guys are ok?” Ellie asked softly. No one seemed to be lying. “I’ll watch out for Bonnie, I promise.”

“You don’t have to tell me something I already know. You’re a good girl, you’re already looking out for her.” Sheila reminded her.

“Do I need to help with the spell?”

Shaking her head, Sheila replied, “This is Bonnie’s mess. It’s her job to clean it up. She and I have got this, though I ought to be going. I’m so honored to have taught you, and once I’m gone, don’t you forget who you are.”

Ellie smiled at her. “I won’t.” Shelia pressed a kiss to Ellie’s cheek before she and Emily vanished. “There’s not much time left is there?”

“There isn’t.” Dr. Martin confirmed. It felt like there wasn’t much left to say, but she couldn’t bear to let them go before it was absolutely necessary. So, in the darkness of the woods, they sat together. It wasn’t much longer before there was a shift in the air, a sense of magic brewing. “It’s time.”

The four of them rose, and one by one they hugged Ellie tightly, trying to make sure that their message was understood. “Thank you guys, for coming. I needed this. I needed to say goodbye.” Ellie said softly.

“We all did.” Isobel assured her. “I love you, I always have my darling girl. I always regretted not getting to tell you before I died.”

There was a swell of emotion at the statement. “I love you too. You would have been a good mom.” Ellie meant it, and it seemed to mean the world to Isobel. The three ghosts smiled at her, Isobel holding her hand. She had gotten the least amount of time with Ellie, and even in death it was one of her biggest regrets. “Thank you.” She said again and the wind picked up. She tilted her head up to look as the leaves swayed violently. When she looked down, they were gone.

She was aware of the ache in her chest, though it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been before. Ellie smiled at where they had stood, before making her way out of the woods. Despite the closure the day had brought her, there was the pain of losing them all over again that made it harder to breathe than usual. It was only when she left the woods that she realized that she had  _ several _ missed calls from Jenna. When she called back, her aunt answered on the second ring.  _ “Ellie? Are you ok? What happened? Where have you been?” _

“Jen, I’m ok. A lot has happened. Can I fill you in when I get home?” Ellie asked tiredly. “I just wanted to go ahead and call to let you know that I was ok.”

It didn’t really surprise her that Jenna immediately picked up that something was wrong.  _ “Ellie? Yeah, yeah, we can talk when you get home. Are you sure you’re ok?” _

Ellie smiled softly. She was so lucky to have Jenna. “Yeah.” She got home as fast as she could and found Jenna already waiting with a chamomile tea in hand. Jenna wiped away the wet streaks on Ellie’s cheeks and pulled her close before they made their way over to the couch. As Ellie explained what had happened, Jenna had kept her wrapped up under her arms.

“I’m glad they came.” Jenna confessed. “It’s been hard to watch you struggle. I wanted to give you time to talk about it at your own pace, but I knew something was wrong. You know you can always talk to me, yeah?”

She sniffed and nodded. Her eyes had started to water as she went over the day’s events, but she didn’t cry again. “Yeah, I know. I think I didn’t realize how bad I was struggling until they were there in front of me and all of the pain just kind of hit me all over again. But now that it’s happened I do feel better.”

“It’s because you got closure. You hadn’t had that before all of this. Are you gonna be ok?” Jenna asked as she ran her fingers through Ellie’s hair.

“Yeah, yeah I think I will be.” Ellie replied and for once, it felt like the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years you guys! Here's to hoping 2021 is a better year than 2020! As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please comment and let me know your thoughts! This chapter was a big one for Ellie's mental health and her getting closure and if I'm honest I cried writing it.
> 
> Posted: 1/1/21


	49. Ordinary People

**Chapter 49: Ordinary People**

_ September 15, 2010 _

In the last week, Elena had once again started to act shady. She didn’t comment on it, yet, though she was very aware that there was something Elena wasn’t telling her. Ellie felt slightly better when both Caroline and Bonnie confessed that they had no idea what Elena was doing. All they knew was that she had started up on self defense practice with Alaric, who was teaching her how to use his weapons. That was actually something she was all for and was considering taking up herself. It was foolish of her to solely rely on her magic, and it was that thought that had her working out more often.

Though, she didn’t have much time to dwell on how suspicious Elena was acting. She didn’t have much time to herself at all. With Stefan missing, though it was Damon to confess that they currently had him on Ripper detox so he wasn’t really missing, Rebekah was spending more time with Ellie. Her reasoning was that Ellie was one of the only people in town that Rebekah didn’t immediately want to murder.

Ellie found that she didn’t mind and she also realized that Rebekah was pretty good company. Rebekah was endlessly fascinated by modern technology, and almost always had a question for Ellie. It was when Rebekah was listening to her with fascination that Ellie found her the most endearing. The blonde had been delighted by the internet, and promptly spent hours on Ellie’s laptop looking up everything that came to mind. It seemed very important to Rebekah to learn about what the modern day was like, and Ellie agreed. If they didn’t want Rebekah to stick out like a sore thumb, she needed to at least know in passing what an MP3 player was.

Video games were another new fascination of Rebekah’s. Ellie had pulled a couple videos up of people playing video games online and she remembered the look of awe on Rebekah’s face. She ended up promising the blonde that she’d borrow Jeremy’s playstation and bring it over to the Salvatore’s so that Rebekah could try it. Though she found she actually liked Rebekah, she didn’t trust her enough to invite her inside. It had taken the confession that Ellie hadn’t invited Elijah in right away either to placate her.

Now, since Stefan was locked up, Rebekah had ridden to school with Ellie. “So you actually want to be a cheerleader?” Ellie asked curiously as they got out of the car.

“Yes? Is there something wrong with that?” Rebekah asked somewhat defensively.

Ellie snorted slightly. “No, not in the slightest. I used to be a cheerleader as well. I’m not judging you for it. I just think it’s interesting since you find the modern way of dressing for women to be like that of a prostitute. You can’t get much shorter than a cheerleader’s skirt.”

“It seems like fun.” Rebekah said as messed with her shorts. She’d arrived dressed in workout clothes since Lisa had wanted the girls to get some exercise in before school started.

“Which part? Cheering for boys tackling each other, or messing with Caroline?” Ellie asked knowingly.

She grinned at Rebekah to let her know she was teasing and Rebekah grinned right back. “Well, I suppose I wasn’t that secret about it. She’s popular. I want to be popular.”

“Everybody wants to be popular, but I think if you gave her a chance you guys might get on well. She’s been my best friend for as long as I can remember.” Ellie told her. Rebekah looked like she wasn’t sure how to reply to that, other than a snarky comment, so Ellie changed the subject. “There’s the girls. I need to get some math homework done before class. Do you want me to keep your bag with me while you guys practice?”

“That would be nice. Thank you.” Rebekah agreed as she passed her bag to Ellie. Some of the cheerleaders called in greeting to Ellie and she smiled and waved at them. She wondered, had it not been for her summer with Klaus and Stefan, if she would be on the cheer team still. Would she have been practicing with them now?

She shook the thought away and got to work. Math was by far her least favorite subject, and so she was focused entirely on it. At least she had been, until she heard one of the girl’s call, “Hey Rebekah, show us what you did last week!” Ellie knew she was talking about the impressive stunt Rebekah had done to mess with Caroline. She gave the girl an encouraging smile and watched as Rebekah stood up a little straighter, before easily shifting into a series of cartwheels.

Rebekah stopped right in front of Ellie’s table, where Elena had also approached. “You. Goody.” Rebekah said sarcastically.

Ellie placed her textbook on top of her papers so that they wouldn’t fly off before walking over to the two girls as Elena said, “I was hoping we could talk.”

“About what? Stefan?” Rebekah asked. “Don’t worry. I’m off him until he starts treating me better. In fact, you should probably take a page out of my book, if I’m being honest.” Ellie agreed with Rebekah that it was most definitely the right decision to keep her distance from Stefan until he had his humanity back. 

She watched with interest as Elena dug around in her bag for something. “Actually, I’d rather talk about this.” Elena said as she held up a picture of odd writing. “I’m wondering why you and Klaus have spent a thousand years running from your father.”

Ellie watched as the color drained from Rebekah’s face and her expression shifted into one of shock. Rebekah hesitated, clearly thrown off guard at this turn of events. “I should get back to the girls.” Rebekah deflected. “Homecoming’s right around the corner.”

Rebekah turned to walk away when Elena added, “Well then maybe I’ll ask Mikael when we wake him.”

The blonde Original froze mid step, but turned back towards Elena with a smirk. “You’re bluffing. You don’t know where he is. No one does.”

“So then who’s rotting in that old cemetery in Charlotte?” Elena questioned smugly.

There was an anger lurking under the surface of Rebekah’s expression as she stalked towards Elena. “If you wake Mikael we are all doomed.” Rebekah said seriously.

“So then tell me?” Elena asked.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Why don’t you want me to wake him?” Elena shot back.

“I need to get back to the girls.” Rebekah repeated before walking away. 

Something was really wrong. Ellie remembered Rebekah mentioning Mikael. She remembered how stressed out Rebekah had seemed at the mere mention of the man and Rebekah hadn’t mentioned him since. “How do you know Mikael’s their father?” Ellie asked Elena as she plucked the picture out of Elena’s hand. “What is this?”

“That is Rebekah’s name in Viking script.” Elena said. “Alaric figured it out. We figured out Mikael was their father because his name was carved next to theirs. All of their names were there. Klaus, Rebekah, Elijah, Mikael.”

Ellie frowned. “And how do you know where Mikael is? What have you been doing?”

Elena took the picture back. “Jeremy asked Anna before Bonnie closed the door. She was the only person her mother ever told.”

“Wait, you involved Jeremy and you didn’t tell me?” Ellie asked in disbelief.

“He doesn’t know about the cave. He just had information about Mikael. And I didn’t involve him, Katherine and Damon did.” Elena replied.

“That still doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell me anything, Elena.” Ellie retorted. Her trust in Elena was still, in all honesty, nonexistent. Quite frankly, Elena hadn’t done anything to gain that trust back.

She watched as Elena glanced over to where Rebekah was standing and chatting with the girls. She had no doubt Rebekah was listening in the conversation. “You’ve been busy.” Elena said simply.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Ellie scoffed. “Elena!”

“I really don’t want to fight with you right now. I’ve got enough going on as it is. I’ll talk to you later.” Elena said dismissively. Before Ellie could get another word in edgewise, Elena strode off, stuffing the photo back into her bag.

Rebekah had managed to make her way back over to Ellie without Ellie hearing anything. “You didn’t know?” She asked. Whether she meant to or not, there was a vulnerability in Rebekah’s expression. Ellie couldn’t imagine that the girl was much older than Ellie when she’d been turned.

“No, I didn’t know.” Ellie replied honestly. “She has a bad habit of leaving me out of the loop.” Rebekah was clearly shaken up at the mention of Mikael. “Is he really your father?”

The vampire stiffened, but nodded. “Yes. Mikael is my father.”

“I’m sorry. I won’t press.” Ellie apologized. She had no clue what Elena was planning, or why she wanted to wake Mikael, but she didn’t want to stress Rebekah out any more than she already was. Rebekah looked like she had expected Ellie to push it, but was grateful she hadn’t. “Why don’t we head to the locker room so you can change before class?” Ellie offered instead.

* * *

After school, Ellie had gotten a text from Rebekah, who had been terribly excited to learn how texting worked, to come over. Ellie quickly replied that she would before going up to Jeremy’s room. “Hey punk!” She called as she tugged his headphones off.

He was drawing someone that looked a suspicious amount like Anna. “What?” He asked as he put his drawing pad down.

“I’m gonna head over to the boarding house, Rebekah wanted me to come over. She was fascinated by the thought of video games so I was wondering if you’d mind if I borrowed the playstation. I didn’t want to invite her in, but I didn’t want to take it without asking you.” Ellie explained.

“You’ve been hanging with her a lot.” Jeremy commented.

“I’m the only person she knows right now that is in town and isn’t acting like a dick. She’s honestly not so bad. No worse than Damon in any case.” Ellie replied. “She hasn’t really given me a reason to not like her, and I don’t think it’s fair to judge her based off of Klaus. Besides, imagine if people only judged you based on your druggie phase and didn’t give you a chance. That would suck, right?”

Jeremy nodded. “You’ve got a point. Yeah, you can borrow it, just make sure you don’t break anything please.”

Ellie grinned, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Have I told you lately that you’re like the best brother ever?”

“I’m your only brother.”

“Best sibling ever.” She amended. He smiled at her praise, but when it didn’t reach his eyes, she reached out for his hand. “Everything ok?”

It seemed that for a split second, he thought about lying before thinking better of it. “Me and Bonnie broke up. A few days ago. I feel like an ass because she was already mad at me for kissing Anna.” He confessed. “But I do think you’re right. I think in the end I still would have hurt her and she didn’t deserve to be hurt like that. Do you think she’ll ever forgive me?”

“You’re a good person, Jer. She liked you a lot. It’s going to take some time, but yes, I think she’ll forgive you after a while. Just don’t push it ok? Let her take things at her own pace.” Ellie explained.

“I will. I owe her that much.” He said thoughtfully. “You know, for someone that’s never had a relationship, you give pretty good advice.” Ellie scoffed at the backhanded compliment before flicking him on the nose. With a wave of her hand, his stereo shot to life, blaring obnoxious pop music so loud they both winced. “Not cool Ellie!” He shouted over the music, but she was out of his reach before he could try to grab her.

As she walked out of his room, she could hear him practically screaming at her over the music to let him turn it off. Jenna popped her head out of her room. “Do I even want to know?” She asked curiously.

Ellie grinned slyly. “Nothing he didn’t have coming.” She replied. “Don’t worry, I’ll turn it off before I leave.”

They ignored Jeremy’s shouting as Jenna asked, “Where are you going?”

“Over to the boarding house. Rebekah wanted to hang out.” 

Thankfully, Jenna didn’t press the matter and just smiled at her niece. “Have fun.”

It was only once Ellie had already gotten the playstation stuff out to her car that she finally turned off Jeremy’s stereo, which she’d been able to hear from her car. Jeremy was at the front door a moment later, flipping her off. “Love you too!” She shouted loudly as she pulled out of the drive. She had elected not to tell Rebekah about the playstation. She thought it would be a nice surprise. When she arrived, she was startled to see Elena there as well. “What are you doing here?”

“Rebekah texted me.” Elena said with a shrug. The tension between the two had returned but they headed inside anyways. 

There was music playing and Rebekah turned to them, alcohol in hand and cheerfully said, “Hey, what’s up?”

“You invited me over to talk.” Elena replied.

Rebekah didn’t answer and instead called out to someone else, “Alright girls. Have at it.” Six girls in dresses and heels walked in from the other room. “Ok, now twirl, please.” The girls did as asked, obviously compelled.

“You compelled your own private runway show?” Elena asked in disbelief.

“I need a homecoming dress.” Rebekah told her, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “So what do you think? Pick one.”

Elena scoffed. “I’m not here to help you shop. I’m here to talk about why you don’t want me to wake up Mikael.”

At the mere mention of her father, she rushed over to the girl closest to her, fangs out and ready to bite. “I said pick one, Elena.” Rebekah warned, the threat of harm coming to the other girl clear, should Elena not do as she was told.

“The red one.” Elena said quickly.

“Ellie?” Rebekah asked.

She gave a once over all the girls. “I actually do really like the red one.” The moment she agreed, Rebekah stepped away from the girl, her fangs retreating.

“There. That wasn’t so hard. Was it?” She asked before she addressed the other girls. “Go away. Remember nothing.” As the girls left, Rebekah picked up her glass and strolled over to Elena, getting in the girl’s face. “You do _ not _ threaten me. You will learn what I allow you to learn. Is that clear?”

Once Elena nodded, Rebekah strolled off. Ellie glanced at Elena, before following after Rebekah. Even though she really wouldn’t have pushed the Original, she was incredibly curious as to what Rebekah’s history was. “Where are we going?” Ellie asked as Rebekah placed her now empty glass on one of the tables.

Rebekah shot her a bright grin. “You’ll see. Come along.” She ended up leading the twins up to Stefan’s room. “How fun is this?” She asked as she strolled inside.

“We shouldn’t be here.” Elena said as Rebekah helped herself to snoop through Stefan’s things.

“Of course we should.” Rebekah replied. “Come on. Like you’ve never wanted to snoop.” She held up a grey pair of Stefan’s underwear. “Boxer briefs. Now that’s a change from the twenties.”

Ellie couldn’t help but grin at the comment. At the moment, Rebekah wasn’t acting any different than the way Caroline might have snooped. “Are you gonna root through his stuff all night, or are you gonna start to tell me your story?”

Rebekah sighed dramatically. “You really are no fun. I much prefer Ellie. What do you want to know?”

“Well, Elijah said that your father was a landowner in Europe. How did you guys end up here?” Elena asked. There was an ache at the mention of the daggered Original, but she pushed past it. Now wasn’t the time.

“My parents had just started a family when a plague struck their homeland.” Rebekah said as she went through the stuff on Stefan’s desk. “They lost a child to it. They wanted to escape and protect their future family from the same fate.” Ellie felt awfully sympathetic for Rebekah. It must have been hard for her parents to lose a child.

“So how did you end up here?” Elena repeated. “This part of the world hadn’t even been discovered yet.”

The blonde seemed genuinely amused by that. “Not by anyone in your history books.” She corrected. “But my mother knew the witch Ayana, who heard from the spirits of a mystical land where everyone was healthy. Blessed by the gifts of speed and strength. That led my family here, where we lived amongst those people.”

“The werewolves.” Ellie deduced.

“To us, they were just our neighbors.” Rebekah explained. “My family lived in peace with them for over twenty years, during which time my family had more children, including me.”

“You make it sound so normal.” Elena told her.

Ellie caught the small smile Rebekah gave as she looked out the window. “It was.” She confirmed. “Once a month, our family retreated to the caves beneath our village. The wolves would howl through the night, and by morning, we’d return home.” Rebekah seemed to brace herself before she continued. “One full moon, Klaus and my youngest brother, Henrik, snuck out to watch the men turn into beasts. That was forbidden. Henrik paid the price.”

“Rebekah…” Ellie said softly, reaching out to take the other girl’s hand, uncaring of Elena’s judgement. Rebekah squeezed her hand gratefully.

“My mother begged the witch Ayana to help us, to save my brother. But Ayana refused, claiming that the spirits would not give us a way. Henrik died and that was the beginning of the end of peace with our neighbors. And one of the last moments my family had together as humans.” Rebekah told them. Her expression was carefully controlled, though she didn’t let go of Ellie’s hand. The ringing of Elena’s phone snapped Rebekah out of her thoughts. She shook her head and replied, “You better get that. That’ll be Damon checking up on you.”

Elena turned and answered it. “Hello? Damon, where are you?” There was a pause before she replied, “Yes, I’m fine but I can’t talk right now. Was that Stefan?” Both Rebekah and Ellie looked up with interest. “Damon how could you let him out?” It seemed that Damon had hung up on her. “Back to the story.” Elena said once she turned back around.

Rebekah released her hold on Ellie and told Elena, “No, I think I’ll take a break. It seems I’ve found a diary of our darling Stefan.” She picked up the journal in mention and dropped down onto Stefan’s bed, flipping open the journal at random and beginning to read.

Ellie shrugged and took a seat, letting Rebekah take things at her own pace. If losing Henrik had felt anything like losing Jeremy, even though it had only been temporary, she completely understood that Rebekah might need a moment to recover. They sat there for a while before Elena seemed to lose her patience, asking, “Did you get your fill of snooping yet? Can we get on with the story?”

Rebekah eyes Ellie, giving her a look, but Ellie didn’t say anything. The blonde put the book down and rose from her spot on the bed, walking over to the small table Ellie and Elena were sitting at. She watched as Rebekah picked up a picture of Stefan and Elena, smiling happily at the camera. “Honestly, I don’t get you two as a couple.”

“Why would you?” Elena asked. “You don’t know anything about who he really is.”

She stared at Elena, unsure if she agreed with her sister’s statement. Rebekah placed the frame back down, once more getting in Elena’s face. “I know exactly who he is.” She said confidently. “He’s a vampire. We’re a predatory species. We don’t have time to care about humans and their silly little lives.”

“Is that why you did that runway show earlier? Because you don’t care about the homecoming dance?” Elena sassed. Rebekah straightened her back as Elena said, “You know what? I’m just gonna go.”

“You haven’t even heard half the story.” Rebekah commented.

“And you’re not going to tell it.” Elena said bluntly. “You’re just bored and looking for someone to push around. Find someone else to play with. Maybe you can compel yourself a friend.” Ellie knew that Elena was manipulating Rebekah to get what she wanted, but part of her thought that Elena played the part of the mean girl a little too well.

“The necklace wasn’t Stefan’s to give.” Rebekah confessed. “It belonged to the Original Witch.”

“The one who put the hybrid curse on Klaus?” Elena asked for clarification.

“Not just the hybrid curse.” Rebekah replied. “She’s the one who turned us into vampires.”

Ellie felt her jaw drop. “What?” She asked in disbelief.

“I’m thirsty. Do you want a drink?” Rebekah asked as she strolled out of the room, Elena and Ellie following right behind her.

“So vampirism was a form of protection?” Elena questioned as they went down the stairs.

Rebekah shot her a look. “What else would it be?”

“A curse.”

“My parents only saw a way of keeping their children alive.” 

“Yeah, but why stay?” Elena asked. “If they were so afraid of the werewolves why not leave?”

A heavy sigh left Rebekah. “Pride.” She confessed as they reached the bottom of the stairs and she turned to face the twins. “My father didn’t want to run anymore. He wanted to fight and be superior to the wolves. Where they could bite, we had to bite harder. Where they had speed, we had to be faster. Agility, strength, senses. Everything could be heightened. My parents went to the witch Ayana, and begged her to help them, but she refused. Claiming that the spirits would turn on them for such an act. It was left in my mother’s hands.”

“In her hands?” Elena repeated. “How could she do anything?”

“Because my mother was also a witch.” Rebekah said simply as they walked down the hallway.

“What?”

It clicked suddenly. Why else would Rebekah be so attached to the necklace? “The witch of the Original family. The Original Witch.” Rebekah said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Honestly, it should have been. “Where do they keep your best vintage?” She asked as they moved into the parlor.

Elena was still seemingly in shock from the revelation. “But if your mother was a witch, then…”

“Am I? No.” Rebekah replied. “A witch is nature’s servant. A vampire is an abomination of nature. You can either be one or the other, never both.” She explained as she found a bottle she deemed acceptable. “My mother did this for us. She did not turn.”

“How did you turn?” Elena asked.

“She called upon the sun for life and the ancient white oak tree, one of nature’s eternal objects, for immortality.” Rebekah made her way over to the fireplace, watching the flames dance, not really focusing on Ellie or Elena. “That night, my father offered us wine laced with blood.” She hesitated before saying, “And then he drove his sword through our hearts.”

“He killed you.” Ellie whispered in shock. “Oh my god.”

Rebekah turned to face them, and Ellie could see the way her eyes had watered, though no tears fell. “And he wasn’t delicate about it either.” She ripped off the top part of the bottle, tossing it into the fire as the other two flinched. “Klaus had come to before I did, he’d tried to comfort me amidst our panic, but our father arrived, a village girl in tow. We had to drink more blood to complete the ritual. My father forced me, but once I gave in, it was euphoric. The feeling of power was indescribable. But the witch Ayana was right about the consequences. The spirits turned on us, and nature fought back. For every strength, there would be a weakness. The sun became our enemy. It kept us indoors for weeks. And though my mother found a solution, there were other problems. Neighbors who had opened their homes to us could now keep us out. Flowers at the base of the white oak burned and prevented compulsion.”

“Vervain.” Ellie said softly, not wanting to interrupt Rebekah.

“And the spell decreed that the tree that gave us life could also take it away. So we burned it to the ground.” Rebekah told them. “The darkest consequence was something my parents never anticipated. The hunger. Blood had made us reborn, and it was blood that we craved above all else. We could not control it. And with that… the predatory species was born.”

They were all silent for a moment, before Elena asked her next question, “Why did Mikael start hunting Klaus?”

“When Nik made his first human kill, it triggered his werewolf gene. With that, he became my father’s greatest shame.”

“Yeah, Elijah told us this part of the story. Your mother had had an affair with one of the werewolf villagers. Klaus wasn’t his son.” Elena replied.

Rebekah paused, before telling them, “She tried to make it right. She put the hybrid curse on Nik to suppress his werewolf side, and then she turned her back on him. But Mikael’s greatest weakness as a human was his pride. As a vampire, that was magnified. He went on a rampage and killed half the village. Then he came home and killed her.”

“Mikael killed your mother?” Elena asked.

“Oh Rebekah…” Ellie said. She didn’t know how to react and it was clear that this was a painful memory for Rebekah to relive.

She turned towards them. “He said she broke his heart so he would break hers. He tore it from her chest as Nik watched. Afterwards, my father took off in a rage, and the rest of my family scattered. Nik stayed so he could help me bury her. He knew I had to say goodbye to my mother. It turned out that Elijah too had stayed. The three of us promised that we would stay by one another’s side, that we would be together, always and forever.”

“Always and forever.” Elena repeated. “Even though he locked you in a coffin for ninety years?”

“We’re vampires. Our emotions are heightened. I’m stubborn, Elijah moral, and Nik… Nik has no tolerance for those who disappoint him.” Rebekah explained. “Over a thousand years as a family, we’ve all made that mistake at least once. I’ve made it several times.”

“But you still love him?” Elena asked in disbelief.

“He’s my brother, and I am immortal. Should I spend an eternity alone instead?” The conversation finally seemed to be getting to Rebekah and she told Elena, “You’ve heard the story. It’s time to go.” When Elena didn’t move fast enough, Rebekah said, “I said leave, Elena. I don’t know what you’re up to, but I am no longer playing along.”

“I’m just looking for one good reason why we shouldn’t wake Mikael.” Elena replied.

Ellie looked at her sister in disbelief. “And I’ve given you a thousand.” Rebekah told her. “But you will anyway. I know you want him to help you kill my brother. I’m not stupid.”

“It’s no secret that I want Klaus dead. He has a hold over Stefan’s life and over mine and over my sister’s.” Elena explained.

“Do what you need.” Rebekah said as she seemed to strengthen her resolve. “Wake Mikael at your own peril. But make no mistake. If you come after my brother, I will rip you apart and I get my temper from my father. Now leave.” Elena walked out and Rebekah stared at Ellie. “Why are you still here?”

“Why would I leave?” Ellie asked.

“Don’t you want my brother dead too? Why are you still here?” Rebekah asked.

Ellie shook her head. “Klaus is kind of a dick, but I’m not sure I want him dead.” Ellie confessed. She wouldn’t dare say that around Elena, but it was true. 

“What?”

She shrugged. “Yes, your brother sacrificed my sister on an altar and nearly killed my aunt and several other friends of mine in the process, but other than that he hasn’t done anything super awful to me or my family. I don’t like that he’s compelled Stefan, but that’s something he can undo anytime he wishes. Even though Elena seems to have conveniently forgotten, Damon has done worse to my family and friends.”

Rebekah was pouring herself yet another drink as she listened to Ellie. “Interesting. Your sister doesn’t seem to agree with your logic.” She commented.

“Elena, apparently, has tunnel vision.” Ellie replied. “I’m not Elena, and what she believes and what I believe, has been different more often than not lately.”

* * *

They had been having fun, actual fun as Ellie showed Rebekah how to use the playstation, when Elena let herself back in. “I thought I told you to leave? Twice.” Rebekah commented as she stood up from where she’d been sitting.

“How do you know that Mikael killed your mother?” Elena asked abruptly.

“Nik was there. He told me.”

Elena was breathing heavily, shaking her head. “He lied to you.” Elena replied.

“And how do you know that?”

“Elena what are you talking about?” Ellie asked as she frowned at her sister.

“The cave where you carved your family’s names is covered in symbols, the story of your family… how your parents arrived, how they made peace, the spell that turned them into vampires, and this, this is the symbol for hybrid.” Elena had been laying down photos in front of them as she spoke. “It’s a combination of the werewolf and the vampire symbol. And this is the one for your mother.”

Rebekah was tense as she confirmed, “Her necklace.”

“And this is the story of her death.” Elena said as she placed down one more photo. “The hybrid killed the original witch. Not Mikael, Klaus.”

“No.” Rebekah denied as tears welled up in her eyes. “No, he wouldn’t.”

But Elena didn’t let up. “She put the curse on him, made it so that he would be the only one of his kind, and then she rejected him. With the werewolf gene comes aggression and violence. When he turned all of that was heightened. He killed her, Rebekah. And then he made up this entire lie about your father so that he wouldn’t lose you.”

“These mean nothing. They’re just stupid drawings! Done by stupid people who had no idea who my family was!” Rebekah shouted as she picked up the photos, throwing them into the fire.

“Then why are you so upset?” Elena asked, and Ellie was shocked at the way she was acting.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Rebekah demanded. “I’ve done nothing to you!” She was right. Rebekah didn’t deserve what Elena was doing to her in the slightest.

“Klaus killed your mother. He has a hold on you, on me, on everyone. He has for a thousand years. We have to make it stop.” Elena pleaded, blatantly trying to turn Rebekah against her brother.

“Shut up! Just shut up! Don’t talk anymore! Nothing!” Rebekah shoved Elena into a wall but released her before Ellie even had to say anything.

When Rebekah stumbled back slightly, Ellie knew in an instant what was about to happen. “Rebekah…” She called softly, reaching for the other girl. “Elena, get out. Get the fuck out.” Ellie hissed as Rebekah crumpled into her arms.

“Ellie…” Elena started.

“ _ Get. Out. _ ” Ellie hissed. “You have done enough.” Her tone was like ice and when Elena didn’t move fast enough, Ellie used her magic to force Elena to move. She kept pushing Elena until the other girl was out the front door, and she promptly locked it behind her so that Rebekah could have privacy. “Rebekah…”

The whispering of her name broke the dam, a choked sob escaping her throat as she turned into Ellie, holding the witch desperately. “No, no, no, no.” Rebekah was sobbing into Ellie’s shoulder, clutching onto the witch as everything really hit her. “He killed her… he killed my mom.” She cried.

Ellie’s heart was aching for Rebekah. Everything Rebekah thought she had known was wrong, and the brother she’d stayed with for a thousand years had taken her mother from her. “It’s ok, let it out.” Ellie soothed as she rocked the vampire gently. Not knowing what else to do, she gently began to hum the same lullaby Katherine had hummed to her when the deaths of Dr. Martin and Luka had overwhelmed her. “I’m right here, Rebekah I’m right here, I promise.”

“It can’t be true. It can’t.” Rebekah sounded like she was begging, though there was no one to beg. It seemed like a part of Rebekah had accepted it to be true, though she didn’t want it to be. Not knowing what else to do, and being near desperate to comfort the girl she was holding, Ellie pressed a kiss to Rebekah’s hair and pulled her closer. If it was all she could do, it was exactly what she would do. She only hoped it would be enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Rebekah this chapter! As always, I hope you guys enjoyed and please leave a comment to let me know your thoughts!
> 
> Posted: 1/2/21


	50. Homecoming

**Chapter 50: Homecoming**

_September 17, 2010_

Ellie had ended up staying the night at the boarding house, piled up in the bed with Rebekah. She held the girl and let her cry until she’d worn herself, eventually falling asleep on a tear stained pillow. Rebekah, to Ellie’s surprise, hadn’t pushed the girl away. In fact, Rebekah was nearly attached at Ellie’s hip. She didn’t mind. If she brought comfort to the other girl, then Rebekah could stay as long as she wanted, especially when it was Elena’s fault Rebekah was so distraught.

She was downright furious at Elena. Jenna had noticed very quickly how bluntly Ellie dismissed her sister. If Elena would walk into a room, Ellie would walk out of it. If Elena spoke to her, she would turn and give the girl a dark look, but say nothing. “What happened?” Jenna asked when Elena was nowhere to be seen. “What did she do?”

She scowled at the thought of it before explaining, “Elena basically traumatized Rebekah just to get Rebekah to do what she wanted.”

Jenna frowned. “Wait what? What happened?” Elena wasn’t a malicious girl, at least Jenna thought she wasn’t.

“A thousand years ago, when they all became vampires, Klaus told Rebekah that their father killed their mother for cheating. Apparently, it was Klaus that killed his mother for turning her back on him.” Ellie told her. “Klaus lied about it so he wouldn’t lose her. Elena dropped that bomb on Rebekah to try and get her to switch to Elena’s side to kill Klaus.”

“You’re kidding.” Jenna said in disbelief.

“I basically threw her out of the boarding house and Rebekah had a breakdown.” Ellie confessed. “Jenna, she looked so broken. And I know it’s not the same, but I know that feeling of betrayal by your sibling. She just had a thousand more years to make it hurt worse. I don’t even know if I agree with killing Klaus. Him wanting to break the curse had nothing to do with us. We were collateral damage. And Elena’s whole reasoning is that he’s got Stefan compelled, but I don’t see why Rebekah couldn’t just compel him to turn it back on. Killing seems a little extreme.”

“You seem pretty sure you don’t want him to die.” Jenna commented as she made herself a sandwich.

With a huff, Ellie brought up her most regularly used defense. “He hasn’t done nearly as much to us as Damon has, but no one seems inclined to kill Damon. It seems kind of hypocritical to me. I mean, Katherine’s done bad stuff too and I don’t want her to die.” She added. “Plus, Rebekah’s actually pretty alright, and even though she’s hurt right now, she loves her brother. She’s not going to want him to actually die.”

Jenna seemed to agree. “You make a point.”

“They’re planning on killing him. They’re going to somehow get Mikael here, and they’re going to go after him. It’s a death wish.” Ellie groaned. “From the way Rebekah described him, he’s not a good man, at all. I can’t imagine anything good is going to come from him being around.” After school had gotten out, Elena had gone off with Bonnie, which gave them the opportunity to talk about stuff like this. Ellie wouldn’t have dared with Elena in the house. 

“What else is going on in that head of yours?” Jenna inquired as she passed over a sandwich for Ellie to eat.

“You know how this necklace was Isobel’s, and even though I didn’t get to know her well, I still feel better having it?” Ellie asked as she rubbed the gem of the necklace absentmindedly. Jenna nodded in understanding. “The necklace that Stefan gave Elena when they first started dating, is actually Rebekah’s mother. I think I’m gonna go see Bonnie. Rebekah hasn’t done anything to anyone. I think she should have it back, since it apparently can’t be destroyed.”

Jenna walked around the table and hugged her niece. “I’m proud of you for being so kind to her. It sounds like she needs someone to do it.” Jenna praised.

“Thanks. Love you.” Ellie told her as she finished off her sandwich before getting her things. She’d already promised Rebekah that she’d head over to the boarding house to help her get ready for the dance. When Rebekah had confessed that she’d never been to a high school dance before, Ellie’s heart softened a bit. The ride to Bonnie’s was short and unsurprisingly, her dad wasn’t home. “Bon?”

The other witch appeared at the front door, giving her a surprised smile. “Hey! What’s up? I was going to head over to your house in a few minutes to help Elena find a dress. Is everything ok?” Bonnie asked worriedly as she stepped aside to let Ellie in.

“Hey, I won’t be here long, but I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you?” Ellie confessed.

“Of course.” Bonnie agreed easily. They hadn’t spent as much time together as Ellie would have liked since she’d gotten back. But with Rebekah having no one else, she’d needed time with Ellie. “What’s up?”

She’d followed Bonnie into her room as Bonnie gathered her things to get ready to go over to Ellie and Elena’s. “Ok… so Elena’s necklace, Rebekah’s necklace, after the whole ‘send the ghosts away’ thing it wasn’t destroyed, right?” 

“Well, I mean, it _was_ and then some magic ghost stuff happened and it was ok again.” Bonnie told her.

“Do you have it?”

“Yeah. Why?” Bonnie asked almost suspiciously.

Ellie gave her a pleading look. “It’s nothing bad. I promise.” Ellie assured her. “Look, I get the whole ‘hate Klaus’ parade, but Rebekah hasn’t done anything bad. It was her mom’s, Bon. She wore it for a thousand years after her mom was killed. I just want to give it back to her. She’s not a witch, it’s not like she can do anything bad with it.”

“Why do you even like her?” Bonnie asked.

She messed with the edge of Bonnie’s blanket. “She doesn’t have anyone, Bon. Klaus hasn’t been here, and it’s not like she wants to talk to him right now since it turns out he’s the one that killed their mom. She’s in love with Stefan, they were together before she was daggered, but he’s off his humanity right now and so she doesn’t have him either. Even if his humanity was on, he’s in love with Elena so she still wouldn’t have him. She’s really not so bad, she’s witty. She reminds me of Caroline, even though Care would kill me for saying it. Care calls her, and I quote the ‘evil blood slut’.”

Bonnie laughed lightly. “Sometimes I think you’re too willing to give people chances.” She confessed.

“You’re probably right, but please, please trust me on this one.” Ellie pleaded, reaching out to hold Bonnie’s hands. “Do this one thing for me, please.”

Bonnie sighed heavily, before nodding. “You’re right. There’s no harm in her having it back.” Ellie beamed at her as Bonnie stood to get the necklace, passing it to Ellie. “I hope you’re right about her.”

“I think I am.” Ellie agreed. “You’re a good friend.” She hugged Bonnie tightly, and they both took a moment to let the comfort sink in. They probably needed to talk about everything that had happened when the ghosts were back, but now wasn’t the time. “I love you, you know?”

“I love you too.” Bonnie replied. “Go give it to her. I’ll be at your house with Elena.”

Ellie was more than grateful for Bonnie. Sometimes they didn’t agree, especially when Elena’s in the middle of it, but Bonnie was good. She was back in her car and headed towards the boarding house in an instant. She let herself in and called, “Rebekah! You here?”

A loud yell came from somewhere upstairs, “I’m in my room!”

There was a rush of cold air, and Ellie spun on her heel, stumbling back when she saw Stefan in front of her. “Jesus, Stefan!”

He grinned at her as he kept her from falling. “Going to the dance tonight?” He asked her curiously.

She frowned at him suspiciously, but nodded. “Yes… why?”

“Got a date?”

Her eyes were nearly in slits as she tried to figure out why he was asking. “Why?” She repeated.

“Well, Rebekah’s got a date, and I doubt Elena wants to go with me. So I figured I’d take you instead.”

She couldn’t help but scoff. “‘Figured you’d take me’. How gentlemanly.” She sassed.

He stepped back and bowed dramatically. “Oh, I’m sorry your majesty. Would you be so kind as to formally allow me to accompany you to the dance as your escort?” He asked. If he’d had his humanity on, she would have laughed. As it were, she didn’t know how she felt. When she didn’t immediately reply, he gave her a look. “Come on, Ellie, let me take you to the dance.”

It was true that she didn’t have a date, and even with no humanity, he wasn’t the worst. “Fine. Just don’t be a dick tonight. Ok?” She pleaded.

That time, his smile seemed a little more sincere. “We both know I won’t be the one messing up the plan.” He told her. “I’ll pick you up at your house?” She nodded and then he stepped back. “Well, Rebekah’s waiting on you, so I won’t keep you.”

Ellie smiled slightly at him before heading up to Rebekah’s room. She laughed slightly when she saw that the playstation looked like it had been paused in the middle of a survival game. “Rebekah?” Ellie called. “I’m here.”

“Hi.” She turned at the sound of Rebekah’s voice, and found the other girl standing in the red dress Elena and Ellie had picked out the other day. “Do you really like this dress?” She asked softly as she ran her hands down the front of it.

There was a vulnerability in Rebekah’s eyes, one that Ellie had seen more often since Rebekah’s breakdown. “You look beautiful.” She said sincerely. Rebekah rang her hands together as she stepped towards the long mirror she had. “I mean it. Rebekah, you’re one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen.”

“You’re just saying that.” Rebekah denied as she fluffed her hair. They were little anxious tics that she didn’t seem aware she was doing. “I know it’s probably stupid to get ready this early, but I didn’t want to leave anything to chance.”

She took Rebekah’s hands in hers, not entirely surprised to realize they were shaking. “I did the exact same thing for my first dance. So did Elena and Bonnie and Caroline and basically every girl I’ve ever met. It’s not stupid, it’s normal. What’s on your mind?”

“I talked to Mikael. I know what the plan is, but I don’t trust him. Plus I…” Ellie knew what she meant without her having to say it, but Rebekah pushed through it anyways. “I’ve been running for a thousand years and for good reason. He’s not a good person. Even when we were human, he frightened us, all of us. I’ve spent my whole life loving and hating my brother in equal measure. I never thought that I…”

With the way the last couple of days had gone, Ellie didn’t hesitate to hug the blonde. “It’s ok, Rebekah. I know what you mean. Are you sure you want to go through with this?” She asked. One sweep with her magic told her that no one else was in the house and they could talk freely.

“I have to be. I’ve already sealed his fate.” Rebekah said as she pulled Ellie a little closer. “I just don’t know what to do. I’ve spent a thousand years by Nik’s side. What am I to do when I have no one?”

“You won’t be alone.” Ellie said immediately. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“We are?” She asked, pulling away to search for a lie.

It was oddly reminiscent of the conversation Ellie had had a million years ago with Katherine. “We are.” Ellie said with certainty. “I’m glad I met you, Rebekah. Plus, once this is over, we can undagger your siblings. How long has it been since you’ve seen Elijah?”

That seemed to bring some sense of peace to Rebekah. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen Elijah. It’s been even longer since I saw my other brothers.” She explained as she sniffed, trying to keep from crying. “I’ve missed them so much.” She turned back to look at herself in the mirror. “How should I do my hair and makeup?” She asked.

Ellie easily let her change the subject, she didn’t want the girl to cry. “While your hair does look gorgeous straight, I think curls with this dress would be perfect, maybe some light make up. You’re already so stunning you don’t need much.” Rebekah smiled at the compliment. “But you need a bit of jewelry to really complete the look. I actually know what would be perfect.”

She pulled the necklace from her pocket and held it up. Rebekah’s eyes widened as she said, “My mother’s necklace. You actually got it back.” Her lip trembled as she tried to keep her emotions in check.

“I promised you I would. You should wear it tonight.” Ellie told her. “May I?” Rebekah nodded eagerly and lifted her hair for Ellie.

Rebekah sniffed as Ellie clasped the necklace in place. “Thank you.” Rebekah said sincerely. “For being my friend and for giving this back to me.”

“It’s my pleasure. Honestly.” Ellie replied. She wasn’t surprised when Rebekah hugged her again. She smiled warmly at the Original. To change the subject so that Rebekah could have a chance to get her emotions in check, Ellie asked, “So, I heard from Stefan that you’ve got a date for the dance. Who might that be?”

Rebekah flushed a pretty shade of pink as she replied, “Matt’s taking me.”

“Matt?” Ellie said in surprise. He tended to stay away from the supernatural stuff, so she was a bit surprised that he’d agreed to take her. “Just be nice to him, ok? He’s my friend and he’s been through a lot. You guys both deserve a good time tonight.”

“I’ll be good, I promise.” Rebekah agreed easily. “You know, for a doppelgänger, you’re not half bad.”

Ellie laughed at that. “Coming from you, that’s a pretty nice compliment.” She replied and she squeezed Rebekah’s hand tightly. “You’re gonna look so beautiful tonight, you’re gonna take Matt’s breath away.”

“You think?” Ellie wondered idly what Rebekah’s life had been like to leave her as insecure as she was. But at the same time, she found it meant a great deal to her to have Rebekah willing to express her vulnerability in front of her.

“I know.” Ellie replied. Rebekah smiled gently at the doppelgänger, surprising even herself at how much she’d come to like the younger girl. All the other doppelgängers that she’d ever met had been selfish bitches. Including Ellie’s stupid sister, Elena, who had stolen Stefan from her. But Ellie was kind and had been there for Rebekah when no one else was. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give this one a chance, a real one. “Do you want me to help you get ready? If you want I can go get my stuff and come back here. We can get ready together?”

Rebekah, who’s emotions were still a bit all over the place, shook her head. “No, no, it’s ok. I think I need a bit of time to myself.” She said honestly. “But thank you, and thank you again for the necklace. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”

“You don’t have to thank me. It’s what friends are for.” Ellie said simply, hugging the girl one more time. “I’ll see you at the dance.” Ellie promised. “We’ll take pictures together.”

“Ok.” Rebekah agreed. She walked Ellie to the front door and smiled as Ellie headed to her car. Maybe all the doppelgängers weren’t so bad after all.

* * *

Ellie had just finished getting dressed and was putting in her earrings as her phone rang. “Caroline?” Ellie asked as she answered. “I’ll be there soon.”

 _“The gym is flooded!”_ Caroline cried. _“What the hell are we supposed to do? I spent ages getting everything ready!”_ There was something, someone talking to Caroline just out of range so that Ellie couldn’t hear. _“What? Really? Oh my god, are you serious right now?”_ There was a pause before Caroline said, _“Oh my god, you’re the best!”_

“What’s going on?” Ellie asked curiously as she put the phone on speaker and put on her other earring.

 _“Tyler is moving the party to his house. He said he didn’t want me to not have a good night just because the gym flooded.”_ Caroline said in relief.

“Kegs and beer pong for homecoming? That’s new. But hey, what the hell, might as well. I’ll be there I promise. As soon as I can find my shoes, that would be great.” Ellie told her. “I’ll be there, I promise.”

Caroline sighed in relief. _“Thank god. Ok, hopefully everybody goes to his house. I’m gonna stay here for a bit to redirect people to his house and then I’ll be there.”_

“See you soon, Care.” Ellie hung up once Caroline said her goodbyes before texting Stefan to let him know she was ready. Elena had gone to the boarding house to get dressed, though Ellie wasn’t sure why. She just hoped that Elena didn’t ruin the night for Rebekah. She heard the front doorbell ring as she was trying to find her shoes. “Jenna, can you get that?”

“I got it!” Jenna yelled back.

When Ellie looked up from where she’d clasped her shoes, she saw Stefan standing before her. “You got me a corsage?” She asked in surprise.

He shrugged before holding his hand out for her wrist. “It’s homecoming. If I’m stuck going I might as well do it right.” He replied simply as he placed it on her wrist. “You look nice.”

“So do you.” She replied carefully, as if she didn’t know how to handle this approach.

It seemed like Stefan understood her hesitation, because he huffed slightly and said, “Listen, you asked me to not be an ass tonight. You were there for me all summer, I owe you this much.”

She startled slightly. He wasn’t supposed to have his humanity, but that sounded pretty human of him. “I… well, ok. In that case, you owe me a picture.” It was the same thing she did every dance, and to her surprise, he didn’t fight her. “Come on.” She dragged him down the stairs, trying to not let the events that were planned for tonight send her into a panic. “Jenna!” She called.

“Yeah?” Jenna asked as she strolled in from the kitchen. 

“Pictures please. If Stefan’s gonna not be a dick tonight, I’m taking advantage of it.” Ellie said bluntly. The vampire snorted in amusement as Jenna took the camera. “Well, your words not mine.” Stefan didn’t fight her on it, and the two posed for Jenna. “Thank you.” Ellie said as Jenna passed the camera back.

“Be careful tonight, yeah?” Jenna said as she hugged her niece. “I wouldn’t know what to do if something happened to you.”

Ellie smiled at her reassuringly, though her stomach was in knots. “I’ll be careful. I promise.” Once they were on the road, Ellie asked, “Do we trust Mikael?”

“We don’t really have a choice.” Stefan replied.

“If he finds out the plan, a whole lot of people are gonna die.” It was one of her worst fears. She’d seen Klaus’ temper first hand, they both had.

“This is our only shot. There’s no backing out now.” He reminded her. It was a bit comforting to see behind his cool façade, that Stefan was nervous too. They didn’t say anything else on the matter and the rest of the ride went quickly.

She frowned when they pulled up. There was an absurd amount of people milling about. “Do you recognize all of these people?” She asked as they got out of the car.

He looked around before shaking his head. “No, I don’t.” He confessed. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Jesus this place is packed.” She huffed as she stepped closer to Stefan. The sound of music just barely made it through the sound of people chattering. “Is that a band outside?” 

“Let’s go see.” Stefan suggested as he parted a way through the crowd, Ellie following closely behind him.

There was a massive crowd outside where a band was playing. How on earth had Tyler pulled something like this off so fast? Speaking of Tyler, the hybrid was carrying a case of beer as he approached Stefan and Ellie. “Hey, Stefan, Ellie, what’s up?”

“Hey, Tyler. Nice party you got going on here.” Stefan commented.

“Thanks, but I’m not the one throwing it.” Tyler confessed. “I’m just doing what Klaus wants.”

That was all it took to make Ellie feel like her stomach was filled with lead, and she reached out to take a hold of Stefan’s forearm nervously. “What do you mean?” Stefan asked as he stepped slightly towards Tyler.

“It’s not a party, man. It’s a wake.” Tyler explained.

As he said that, the song ended and the crowd cheered as Klaus stepped up to the microphone. “Good evening everyone! I want to thank you all for being here with me to celebrate. It’s been a long time coming.” He said. Everyone listened to him excitedly but Ellie had a death grip on Stefan. She didn’t entirely want Klaus dead, at least she didn’t think she did, but she definitely didn’t want any of her friends dead. She was absolutely stuck between a rock and a hard place.

After Klaus walked off stage, he was unsurprisingly next to them, grinning. “Ellie, you look lovely.” He praised as he raised her hand to kiss it.

Tyler walked in one direction with Ellie, Stefan, and Klaus walked in the other. “Quite the homecoming.” Stefan commented.

“I’ve been planning my father’s funeral for a thousand years. Granted, in no version of it were any of these people invited, but you get the idea.” Klaus replied.

“So what now? You just stop running?” Stefan inquired.

“Now I reunite my family.” Klaus explained.

Ellie felt her heart thump violently with hope. Rebekah deserved her family back, and if Ellie were honest with herself, she still missed Elijah. “Your family? You mean, the people you cart around in caskets?” Ellie squeezed Stefan’s arm in warning, but Klaus didn’t seem angry.

“None of that matters anymore. Mikael’s gone. Bygones will be bygones.” The homecoming queen passed by them, commenting on the great party. “Seems the homecoming queen still walks among the living, which leads me to believe that Rebekah isn’t here. Where is she?”

“I have no idea. I thought she was coming with Matt.” Stefan told him.

“Oh, be honest now, Stefan. Where’s my sister?”

“I said, I have no idea.”

Klaus looked over to Ellie for confirmation. “He’s telling the truth. Last I saw her was earlier, she was getting ready for the dance. I was supposed to meet her here.”

“Now would you like me to take you to your father?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be a party without the guest of honor, would it? Bring him to me.”

“Alright.” Stefan agreed. “Perhaps there’s something in it for me? My freedom from your compulsion.”

“Oh, you want your freedom? Well, once he’s dead and his weapon destroyed, you’ll have your freedom. It’ll be my pleasure to give it back to you.”

Ellie and Stefan walked away from Klaus after that. During the conversation, Ellie hadn’t let up on her death grip on Stefan. They seemed to both understand the severity of their situation, and that Stefan’s freedom was now in his grasp. “You should probably go get Mikael.” She suggested.

“Yeah. I think so.” He replied before pulling his keys out of his jacket pocket. “If something goes wrong, get the hell out.” He warned her. She didn’t even get the chance to thank him before he was gone.

She walked around, finding herself in a less occupied room. Out of reflex, she scanned the room she was in, and turned at a familiar feeling. A few yards away stood her twin, but it wasn’t Elena. “Katherine?” She whispered, her voice so low that she could hardly hear herself.

Katherine looked startled at being discovered, but grinned. “Missed me?” She teased. “Haven’t gotten to see you much.”

“No, not since you _kidnapped my brother_.” Ellie hissed quietly. Katherine hadn’t hurt him more than a bump on the head, so she wasn’t actually mad. It was more an annoyance that Katherine hadn’t given her a heads up. “Where’s Elena?”

Katherine glanced around the room. “Just go with it. It’s safer if she’s not here.” She replied just as quietly.

“We both know you don’t care about her safety.” Ellie scoffed.

“Well, you’re not wrong, but I can’t leave any of this to chance.” 

Ellie felt the magic as a hybrid headed their way and straightened up. “Elena, I didn’t know you had that dress. It looks great.” Ellie said at a normal level as the hybrid walked in. It was a girl with short hair and suspicious eyes. “Come on, we’ve gotta take pictures for Jenna.” Katherine thankfully understood as she spared a momentary glance at the hybrid.

“Of course.” Katherine agreed, her voice shifting slightly as she pretended to be Elena. “I was just with Bonnie, maybe we can find her to get pictures with her later.”

It was disturbing, quite honestly, how well Katherine could pretend to be Elena. Once the pictures were taken, Ellie put the camera away. They were standing together, watching the band, when Klaus approached them. “Where’s your date?” He asked Katherine curiously.

“Getting me a drink.” Katherine replied carefully.

Klaus offered up his beer bottle and Katherine shot him a look. He grinned at her and said, “Well, seems I have you to thank for Mikael’s demise.”

“He came at me. I didn’t have a choice.” Katherine explained.

“Still I’m impressed. It’s not easy for a human to dagger an Original.”

“It wasn’t the first time.” Katherine replied.

“Right. Elijah.” Klaus nodded. He noticed the way Katherine was looking around anxiously, but didn’t notice the way Ellie slipped her hand into the other girl’s for comfort. “You seem nervous.”

“I’m not nervous. I just don’t like you.” Katherine said defensively.

Klaus widened his eyes slightly and said, “Right, straight to the point then. Shall I, love? People have been after me for a thousand years. And I am always one step ahead. So whatever it is you’re thinking of trying, go for it. Give it your best shot. You won’t succeed.”

“It won’t be for lack of trying.” Katherine replied.

She tried to step away, but Klaus blocked her and told her, “Now you’d be smart to tell Damon to mind his manners tonight. Cause, if I die, I’ve already insured that he’ll die along with me. Even in death, my hybrids have their orders. So, you kill me, you’re killing him too.”

Once he was gone, Ellie hastily dragged Katherine through the house and out to where Stefan’s car was parked. “We have to tell Stefan.” She insisted.

“I thought you didn’t care about Damon?” Katherine asked. 

“I’m not his biggest fan, but I don’t entirely want him dead. He’s looked out for Elena, and he’s Stefan’s brother.” Ellie confessed. “Listen, Stefan was all I had all summer. I was all he had too. He’s saved Elena repeatedly, I owe him this much to save his brother.”

“Fair enough.” Katherine agreed as they kept an eye out for any of the hybrids. “So what do we do?”

“We can’t just not go through with the plan. Rebekah is absolutely terrified of Mikael. If we screw him over, we’re all dead.” Ellie insisted. “Klaus promised Stefan that if Mikael died and his weapon was destroyed, then he would free Stefan.”

Katherine’s eyes widened. “You want to double cross them?”

“We don’t have any other choice. It is the only way we all survive. If we tell them, they’ll try and stop us. Elena is blinded by hate. She wants Klaus dead, badly. I can’t trust her to be rational.” Ellie explained. “Right now, the only person I trust to get this done is you.”

Katherine was touched, but they didn’t have time for that. “So what do we do? Stefan flipped his switch.”

“How do you turn it back on?”

“You have to care, care about something enough that you’re willing to let the pain back in.”

Ellie thought for a moment before an idea hit her. “When he was human, you were in love with him yeah?” She asked. “He was in love with you, right?” Katherine nodded softly. “He stalked me and Elena for months after he saved us from the car crash, because we look like you. There had to have been part of him that still cared about you. If there’s anything that can get through to him right now, it’s you and the threat of Damon’s safety. Everything that’s happened this summer has been because Stefan was desperate to keep his brother alive. I don’t see him just letting that all go to waste just to kill Klaus.”

Katherine grinned at her. “My, my, look at you plotting away. I see myself in you. I’m proud.”

“Be proud later. Save Stefan and Damon now.” Ellie insisted. The two of them knew exactly what they needed to do and Ellie was willing to go behind everyone’s backs to get it done. But this plan was going to hinge solely on whether or not Stefan came through. As Katherine disappeared in a blur, Ellie prayed.

* * *

She hadn’t needed to wait long before the hybrids started moving the crowd out back. One sweep of her magic, and the powerful presence that could only be Mikael was nearly overwhelming. Ellie made her way towards where she knew Mikael and Klaus would both be. “Hello, Niklaus.” Mikael said.

His expression alone was enough to make Ellie wary of him. “Hello, Mikael. Won’t you come in? Oh, that’s right. I forgot. You can’t.” Klaus sassed. If the tension wasn’t so thick, Ellie might have laughed.

“Or you can come outside, if you want.”

“Or I could watch my hybrids tear you limb from limb.” Klaus shot back.

“They can’t kill me.”

“True, but it’ll make a hell of a party game. All I have to do is rub these two fingers together, and they’ll pounce.” 

Mikael smirked. “The big, bad wolf. You haven’t changed. Still hiding behind your playthings like a coward.” He taunted. “You only forget. They may be sired by you, but they’re still part vampire and they can be compelled by me.”

The short haired girl that Ellie had seen earlier stepped up beside Mikael, and jerked Katherine forward. “Elena!” Ellie gasped, moving forward, only to be held back by Klaus.

“Come out and face me, Niklaus. Or she dies.”

“Go ahead. Kill her.” 

“No, Klaus, he’ll do it.” Katherine begged as she panted.

“If she dies, this lot will be the last of your abominations.”

“I have Ellie. I don’t need Elena. And I don’t need them. I just need to be rid of you.”

“To what end, Niklaus?” Mikael asked as Katherine shook. “So you can live forever with no one at your side? Nobody cares anymore about you, boy! Who do you have? Other than those whose loyalty you’ve forced?” Ellie stepped to the side slightly. She didn’t like the way that Mikael talked to Klaus. “No one.” It was unnecessarily cruel, and malicious. Ellie saw Klaus’ eyes water and felt her resolve strength to kill Mikael instead. “No one.”

“I’m calling your bluff, father. Kill her.” Klaus’ tone was carefully controlled as he refused to cry.

“Come outside and face me, you little coward. And I won’t have to.”

“My whole life you’ve underestimated me. If you kill her, you lose your leverage. So go ahead, go on. Kill her. Come on, old man. Kill her. Kill her!”

Mikael laughed at him cruelly. “Your impulse, Niklaus. It has and will forever be the one thing that keeps you from truly being great.” Ellie watched as the tears rolled down Klaus’ face, and felt a strong rush of anger at Mikael. Katherine gasped as the knife sunk deep into her back.

“Klaus!” Ellie shouted as he screamed in pain, the stake burrowed low into his stomach.

Ellie watched as Katherine stood, and knew now was their only chance. “Katherine…” Mikael hissed.

Katherine looked over at Ellie and grinned before turning to the hybrids. She pulled the pins on two wolfsbane grenades. “Kaboom.” She said smugly.

They exploded and the hybrids cried out in pain as Ellie turned back to Klaus and Damon. He had moved to plunge the stake into Klaus’ chest, but Ellie’s hand flung out, stopping him in his tracks while also holding Mikael into place. “Witch.” Mikael hissed as the stake tumbled to the floor.

“Klaus! Now!” Ellie yelled. He didn’t hesitate before he picked up the stake and tackled Mikael. Mikael let out an ungodly scream as he was staked. A fire erupted from it, quickly consuming Mikael’s body.

“What the hell did you do?” Damon asked angrily as he fought against Stefan, who had pinned him down, and as Klaus made his way back inside the house.

“He’s earned his freedom.” Klaus said simply. Stefan turned his head sharply, and Ellie could see he was shaking as he stood. “Thank you, my friend.” Klaus said sincerely. “Thank you both.” He turned back to Stefan and said, “You no longer have to do as I say. You’re free.”

Damon disappeared at that, leaving the three of them standing in the foyer. “Oh my god.” Ellie breathed, throwing her arms around Stefan’s neck. “You’re free.” She repeated. It seemed to take Stefan a moment to process what had just happened, but he hugged her back with vigor. The blowout with Elena and the others would come eventually, but in the moment, all Ellie wanted to do was celebrate Stefan’s freedom and Mikael’s death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we got more Ellie and Stefan and more Ellie and Rebekah this chapter! Surprise surprise, Ellie actually knew about the plan, though she never wanted him dead. Did you see her double crossing the other coming? As always, please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
> 
> Posted: 1/9/21


	51. The New Deal

**Chapter 51: The New Deal**

_ October 9, 2010 _

Everything since homecoming had been… tense, to say the least. Elena was downright hostile towards Ellie over it, though she didn’t actually say anything. It was bad enough, and annoying enough, that Ellie had once again sought refuge from Elijah’s apartment. Jenna had probably been the most understanding out of the whole lot. But then again, Jenna often was.

If she were honest with herself, there was a part of Ellie that relished in doing to Elena what Elena had done, and continued to do, to Ellie. It wasn’t very fun to be kept in the dark about potentially life threatening decisions. Katherine was flat out delighted at the turn of events. It wasn’t surprising, with how much she hated Elena and honestly wanted her to suffer. Though it was Klaus that had come to her, furious with the revelation that Stefan had stolen his family, Katherine didn’t hesitate to confirm it.

Katherine had been tormented by Klaus for five hundred years because she didn’t want to die. Even though Ellie wanted Klaus to have his family back, which admittedly came in part by her desire to have Elijah and Rebekah back, she couldn’t blame Katherine. Klaus had murdered her family, tit for tat and all of that.

With Klaus however, there had been a shift in their relationship. He was aware that she had double crossed the others to guarantee his survival and get rid of the man that had hunted him for a thousand years. It was not a decision of hers that he took lightly. They’d been spending more time together while Ellie was avoiding her home. He was renovating a mansion on the outskirts of town and had given her the opportunity to help him as a distraction. He seemed acutely aware of the tension between her and Elena, and surprisingly offered her a reprieve. 

The night Klaus came to talk to her about everything that had happened at the homecoming dance was one that was burned into her memory. She remembered vividly the way that Mikael and his taunts had pushed Klaus to tears. It was very clear to her that Klaus was terrified of being alone, of having no one. Mikael had seemed to know that as well, and used it against Klaus.

Her decision to save him, of choosing his side, was something he held in high regard. He’d thanked her for being a loyal friend. He thanked her for being the only loyal friend he had left. It reminded her of what he’d said to her and Stefan in the woods when his pack of hybrids had failed. The night he’d called them his comrades. At the very least, she could rationalize her decision that if she were in his favor, she could help protect the others.

Other than Klaus and Jenna, the person Ellie was spending the most time with had been Tyler. Which made her feel awful because he was sired and there was nothing he could do to help that fact. Ellie wasn’t even sure that Klaus had known that it would happen, though she doubted he was upset about it. It didn’t help that Caroline was pissed at Tyler for drugging her during the dance. Though she wouldn’t admit it, she agreed with his decision. One of the things she loved most about Carline was her stubbornness, but she would not let that get Caroline killed.

Given that the tension probably wouldn’t be as bad if she told them that she and Stefan had done what they did to save Damon, Elena was being annoying and Ellie was feeling petty. Ellie pushed away her frustration as she pulled up to Klaus’ new house. “Jesus this place is massive.” She muttered to herself. 

“Who are you?” An unfamiliar man asked. He was tall and broad and imposing, but he was a hybrid and should the need arise, she could snap his neck and he would be fine later.

“Ellie. Who the hell are you?” She asked as she straightened her back. Maybe Katherine was right. Maybe she was more like the vampire than she realized.

The man tried to take a threatening step towards her, but instead dropped to his knees in pain. “Robbie, Robbie mate it’s alright, she’s a friend!” Klaus assured him as he walked into the room. “Ease up now, love. Don’t want you damaging my mates.” She released the hybrid at once, and he rolled away from her slightly as he recovered. “Someone’s got a temper this morning.”

“Had to go home last night to get more clothes. Elena was glaring daggers at me. Lets just say I haven’t been in the best mood since.” Ellie huffed as she followed Klaus through the house. There was still a good bit to be done, but it was really starting to look beautiful. “Have you gotten wind of Rebekah?” Ellie asked curiously.

Rebekah had vanished. Neither Ellie nor Klaus had any idea where she’d gone, though they both suspected she’d been daggered by either Mikael or by Damon and Elena. “No. I don’t suppose you could try a locator spell?” Klaus suggested.

“Wait!” Ellie said in surprise. “This whole time I was thinking that I couldn’t do a locator spell because I didn’t have an object of significance. I’m so stupid! You’re blood related. I don’t  _ need _ an object of significance when I have you.”

“We aren’t fully blood related though.” Klaus reminded her.

“Half siblings are still siblings, Klaus. It should work.” Ellie assured him. “Do you have a map?”

“Of course.” Klaus told her as he led her into a room she suspected would become a study. He placed the map down flat as Ellie gathered candles.

It occurred to her that this time, she would intentionally be going against her family for something selfish, not to protect them. Part of her felt guilty, but another part felt guiltier at the thought of leaving Rebekah daggered instead of helping her. Rebekah had no one else that really wanted to help her save for Klaus, who’s mood could change at the drop of a dime. Elena had been unnecessarily cruel to Rebekah, she owed the girl this much. “I need your blood.” She told him.

He bit into his hand without hesitation, the blood spilling onto the map. “Is that enough?” He asked.

“Yeah.” She confirmed. Despite his repeat offenses of daggering his siblings, she knew it bothered him greatly to have Rebekah potentially vulnerable at someone else’s hand. At least when he daggered her, he knew she was safe. He watched as she candles shot to life and the young witch before him started her spell. Her actions during the homecoming dance had proven her loyalty to him. It was incredibly refreshing to have someone help him because they’d wanted to.

He was aware that she also did it to save Stefan, though he didn’t seem to sense any romantic connotation between the two. They were awfully close, growing closer during their time away from Mystic Falls, but Stefan was still rather pathetically in love with Elena. Klaus didn’t see why, in his opinion, the little witch before him was the far more interesting twin. When she gasped, he looked back down at the map. The blood was shaking. “What? What is it?” He asked. “Is Rebekah alright?”

She was frowning in confusion “It’s like there’s pushback.” She said, baffled. “When Elijah was daggered and I’d searched for him it didn’t do this. Given, it didn’t give me an exact location because I was just using something random of his, but it got me in the ballpark. This… this is like someone’s pushing me out.” She tried to explain. She had never felt something like this, and certainly not to this degree even if she had.

“The Bennett witch?” Klaus questioned. 

“I don’t… this feels way too strong to be Bonnie. This is a  _ lot _ of force. But I do think she’s daggered.” Ellie confessed as she released the spell. The candles went out in an instant, and she wiped at her nose, though there was only a small drop of blood. “What do we do now?” She asked a little hopelessly.

“It’s nice to see you and Rebekah have bonded in my time away. I’m sure she’ll be pleased to know you care.” Klaus said idly as he pressed paper towels down to clean up the blood. “Now, I suppose we do it the old fashioned way.”

“Which is?”

“With threats of bodily harm of course.” He said cheekily. “Now, where would your lovely sister and the other Salvatore that tends to be close by her at all times be?”

“I haven’t exactly been having a girl’s night with her. How the hell should I know?” She scoffed.

Klaus gave her an unimpressed look. “You’re telling me you don’t have the slightest inclination as to where your sister and boy toy might be at the moment?” He asked as he put the map away.

“If I had to guess, The Grill most likely.” Ellie replied.

“Off we are then. If I’m honest, I’m a tad impatient.” Klaus told her as gestured for her to go back the way she came. “I’ll drive.” He said as he held his hand out for her keys. “Come along, Tony.”

She rolled her eyes, but passed them over to him. “A tad.” She scoffed as she got in the car. “As if.” Tony, one of Klaus’ hybrids, followed them out to her car, getting into the backseat without protest.

“Someone’s irritable.” Klaus commented.

“Someone shouldn’t make it worse.” She shot back in the same sing song voice he’d used. He just grinned as he drove. As they drove, Ellie contemplated how everything had ended up like this. Elena, in her bitterness over her plan failing, had somehow managed to alienate Ellie to the point she didn’t feel welcomed in her own home. 

She stood by her decision to go after Mikael instead of Klaus. Ellie still very much thought that it was the right one. Something about Mikael left her unsettled. They’d even saved Damon and now somehow Ellie and Stefan were the bad guys because of it. Given, Stefan was acting like a dick, especially now that he’d stolen the rest of the Originals. Ellie had no idea whether or not his flip was switched or not. She didn’t think that it was, because he’d cared enough to save Damon. But at the same time it was like he wasn’t letting all of his emotions in. “Your thoughts are startlingly loud, love.” Klaus commented as he spared her a glance. “What’s wrong?”

Ellie shrugged. It wasn’t like she even knew how to express what she was feeling at the moment. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have talked about it with Tony in the car with them. “Nothing.” She finally told him and dismissed the conversation with a wave of her hand. She was grateful he didn’t press the subject. When they arrived at The Grill, they almost instantly spotted Damon and Elena near the dart board. “Are you kidding me?”

Klaus noted her disgust at the sight of Damon and Elena in such close proximity. “Don’t mind me.” Klaus interrupted casually as he leaned against the banister.

“Klaus.” Elena said softly as Damon moved in front of her. Ellie couldn’t help but roll her eyes. What was Klaus going to do? Behead them in the middle of The Grill?

“You’re gonna do this in The Grill? In front of everyone?” Damon asked in disbelief. “It’s a little beneath you, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Klaus replied. “I just came down to my local pub to grab a drink with my mates. Get a round in, would you, Tony?” Elena seemed startled to see the other hybrid, but she didn’t know why. “Make sure to get Ellie here one too, with her family drama, heaven knows she could use one.”

She knew that Klaus only said it to get under Elena’s skin, but she would be grateful for the drink. “I’m surprised you stuck around town long enough for happy hour.” Damon said sarcastically.

“My sister seems to be missing. Need to sort that out.” Klaus explained.

“Cute, blonde bombshell? Psycho?” Damon asked rhetorically. “Shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

“One would think so. Except my talented witch here seemed to have some difficulty finding her. If my sister were unharmed, it should have been a breeze for her to locate Rebekah. Given that that’s not the case, one would be led to believe that other forces are at play.” Klaus told them and Elena looked nervous. “Truth is, I’ve grown to rather like your little town. Thinking I might fancy a home here. Now I imagine you’re wondering, how does this affect you? And the answer is not in the slightest. As long as I get what I want, and everyone behaves themselves. You can go on living your little lives however you choose. You have my word.”

“What more could you possibly want?” Elena asked in disbelief.

“Well, for starters, you can tell me where I might find Stefan.” Klaus suggested as he got in Elena’s face.

“Stefan skipped town the second he saved your ass.” Damon told him.

“Well, you see, that is a shame.” Klaus told them as he took the darts from Damon, tossing one aggressively and it embedded itself in the bullseye. “Your brother stole from me. I need him found so I can take back what’s mine.”

“That sounds like a Klaus and Stefan problem.” Elena said as Ellie gave her a look of disbelief.

Klaus stepped towards her, to which Damon immediately responded by placing himself in between them. “Well this is me broadening the scope, sweetheart.” Klaus warned her. “Now, I see Tony has our drinks, come along, Ellie.”

She let him lead her away and watched as Elena made a face before leaving. “Thanks.” Ellie said as she took the drink and downed it. “That was fun.”

“Family gatherings always are.” Klaus replied as he got her a refill. “Do you think you could do a locator spell on Stefan?” Klaus inquired.

“I don’t have any important items of his on hand, and I doubt I’ll be able to get into the boarding house to get anything. Quite frankly, I think they daggered her because they didn’t want her messing up their plan to kill you.” Ellie confessed as she took a seat at the bar. “They had no reservations in fucking over Elijah, I doubt they’d have an issue with fucking over Rebekah.”

Tony left with a wave of Klaus’ hand. “Something seems to be eating at you, little witch. Do you want to talk about it?” He asked her.

She observed him for a moment. “Do you actually care?” She questioned.

“I do, believe it or not. You’re one of the only loyal comrades I have.” He told her. “Your loyalty to my sister also does not go unnoticed.”

Ellie sighed before downing her drink and confessing, “I don’t know why Elena’s so hellbent on killing you. Yes, you did kind of kill her so you could be a hybrid, but she’s back now and it’s fine. Damon has done way worse but no one seems to want him dead.” She told him. “Before all of this, Elena would have never been so eager to kill someone. I don’t know what’s happened to her.”

“Sisters can be rather dramatic.” Klaus said in agreement.

“Just get me another drink please.” Ellie asked, desperate to not have the conversation any longer.

* * *

Klaus had indulged her requests to supply her with drinks. She’d had enough to get tipsy, but after that Klaus cut her off and made her eat, making a comment about it not being a good look to be day drunk. After he’d deemed her sober enough to drive, he gave her the keys to her car, claiming that he had business to attend to. She didn’t question it. Now, she was currently in the middle of the woods with Jenna, both of them in workout gear.

Both Ellie and Jenna agreed that Elena and Alaric had the right idea when it came to working out. It would give them a better chance of survival if they could fight at least to some degree. “Tell me again why we’re doing this out in the middle of the woods?” Jenna asked curiously as she tied her shoes again.

“For one, we can’t exactly learn how to shoot crossbows with accuracy in the backyard. Plus, practicing running through the neighborhood might help with endurance, but it won’t help you in the woods. But if we can get good at running through the woods without dying, we have much better chances at survival.” Ellie told her.

“You sound sure of that.” Jenna laughed lightly.

“Well, given that I’ve had to run for my life through the woods, or have come close to it. For reference, please see running from Tyler on a full moon and being stuck in the mountains with a pack of almost hybrids that had gone rabid.” Ellie reminded her. The thought of the wolves in the wood was still unsettling. “But more than that, we need defense training against a vampire.”

Jenna nodded. “Is Caroline coming?” She asked curiously.

“Even better.” A voice drawled. 

Jenna looked up to see her niece’s double. Like Ellie and Jenna, she was in workout gear, somehow making it look like she was fresh off the runway. She watched as Ellie grinned brightly at Katherine. Without hesitation, Ellie hugged the vampire tightly. “Katherine, Thanks for coming.” Ellie said gratefully.

To Jenna’s surprise, Katherine smiled fondly at Ellie. “Well, it wouldn’t be very nice of me to let you get yourself killed because you couldn’t defend yourself. Now would it?” Katherine told her. “Plus, I look hot in workout gear.”

“So, what exactly are we doing?” Jenna asked as she rose. “It’s nice to see you Katherine.” She added as she smiled at the girl.

“Running is a good start.” Ellie said.

Katherine nodded in agreement. “Speaking from experience, having endurance while running through the woods would help a lot.” Katherine said. “I was very lucky that I didn’t get caught while running from Klaus. Had I not had help, I wouldn’t have made it.”

With that they were off, running through the woods at a light, but steady pace. Katherine was keeping a check on the time, her being a vampire made this a piece of cake for her. They were running for a while before Jenna began to tire. It wasn’t surprising when they’d finally lapped back around to their starting point and Jenna dropped heavily on a fallen tree. She was panting as she drank greedily from her water bottle. “Nice running, Jenna.” Ellie praised.

Katherine was leaning casually against the tree. “You lasted longer than I thought you both would.” She told them.

“Is that a compliment or an insult?” Ellie asked, she wasn’t breathless, but she was breathing a bit heavier than normal. Katherine grinned at her. “I was a cheerleader, I can manage running.”

“And I’m sure you looked fantastic while doing it.” Katherine told her. Ellie snorted. Every time Katherine complimented her on her beauty, it was also always Katherine complimenting herself. “Of course, being able to run for a long period of time or very fast will both come in handy. Now, you can’t outrun a vampire in cases like being confronted. You have to be able to have a head start.”

“How do we do that?” Jenna huffed as she poured a bit of her water on her face.

“Well, for Ellie, in most cases, if she can’t snap their necks if it’s a vampire, she can at least throw them into something and stun them. You, however, don’t have magic, which means you definitely need another way to defend yourself.” Katherine told her. “Ellie managed to nick these from your dear history teacher. It’d be handy to keep them near you.”

“The thing with those is that your hit has to be strong enough to make it eject the stake.” Ellie said as she passed out of Alaric’s arm cuff stakes to Jenna. “I know Elena had difficulty with it.”

The thought of Elena failing at something made Katherine smile. “But, if nothing else, keeping stuff like a wooden pencil with you could save your life.” Katherine added, twirling around a pencil she had picked out of Ellie’s bag.

Ellie suddenly thought back to when Elijah had stabbed Damon through the neck with a pencil at the party. It had taken Damon by surprise, and had inflicted enough damage that it took Damon a minute to recover. “She’s right. I’ve seen it in action. But you still need enough force to drive it through.”

“So what exactly is the CPR looking dummy for?” Jenna asked as she nodded her head towards the white dummy.

“It’s supposed to be similar to a human body, which means if we can use enough force on it, we should be able to do it to a vampire.” Ellie explained. “You wanna go first?” She questioned.

Jenna shrugged. “Sure, might as well.” Ellie helped make sure the cuff was on properly before Jenna walked forward and hit the dummy. “Don’t be disappointed, Jen. Elena couldn’t do it the first  _ several _ tries either.”

“Ellie, why don’t you try?” Katherine suggested as she passed another cuff to the witch. Ellie took it and put it on. When she punched it, like Jenna and Elena, nothing happened. “Try again. Think about something that makes you angry. Something that starts a fire in you. Something that makes you want to scream.”

It didn’t surprise Ellie that it was the actions of Damon Salvatore that lit a rage in her. He’d done so many things to the people she cared about. He’d hurt Caroline, Jeremy, Bonnie, Alaric, Elena. Jesus Christ he’d force fed Elena his blood when she didn’t want to be a vampire. He killed Mason and Vicki. Was it his fault that Elena was out for blood? Was he why she was so willing to kill Klaus? He’d been flirting with his brother’s girlfriend after Stefan basically gave up his life for him. A frustrated scream tore through her throat, and she slammed her fist into the dummy. “Jesus.” She gasped as she pulled away.

The stake was buried deep in the dummy’s chest, right where the heart would be. “Holy hell.” Jenna said in surprise.

Katherine, on the other hand, looked like Christmas came early. “There’s that Petrova fire.” Katherine said gleefully. “I knew you had it in you.” She pulled the stake out. “Use that rage, and do it again.” She instructed. Ellie wasn’t sure she could do it again, but if she wanted to be safe, she had to. She thought of those deaths, of the nights she’d spent crying and channeled it, and struck once more. “Atta girl.” Katherine praised when the stake once again lodged itself deep.

“This is kind of therapeutic to be honest.” Ellie said as she panted. The rage she was channeling had taken more out of her than the run had.

“Seems like you’ve got more rage than I realized.” Katherine commented as she took Ellie’s arm to reload the cuff. “Again.” Ellie did as she was told as Jenna took a break to catch her breath. “Switch arms. Keep going.” Ellie did just that and Jenna watched as her niece staked the dummy again and again.

“Remind me to never piss you off.” Jenna commented idly when Katherine finally told Ellie to take a break.

Ellie laughed breathlessly as she collapsed next to Jenna. “God my arms feel like spaghetti noodles.” She told them. With the way her hand was shaking as she forced it to lift the water bottle was enough to let them know she wasn’t kidding. “I don’t think I’ve ever worked my arms out like that.”

“You’re alright, Princess.” Katherine teased playfully as she passed the younger girl a snack bar. Jenna was fascinated by their interaction. Everything Elena had always said about the vampire before her made her sound like a heartless monster. The way Elena described her made her sound like she wasn’t even capable of love or kindness. Even though she’d had very limited interactions with Katherine, watching her with Ellie at this moment made it clear that Elena was wrong. Quite frankly, Katherine was looking at Ellie the way Ellie looked at Jeremy. “Alright Jenna, your turn.”

“To do what exactly?” Jenna asked, thought she wasn’t protesting. “I’m not strong enough to stake the dummy yet, and I don’t have nearly enough rage to channel.”

“That’s not what I want you to do.” Katherine assured her with a grin. “Pushups are a good place to start. I don’t have a set number in mind. Just go until you’re worn out.”

Jenna groaned softly but nodded. When Ellie noticed her form was off, Jenna reminded her, “I was a stoner in high school, not an athlete and I  _ hated _ gym.”

“Everybody hates gym, Jenna.” Ellie replied as she ate her snack. “You’re doing good, though.” They continued on like that for ages, Katherine making them finish their workout with yet another run through the woods even though it had gotten dark.

“This would be easier if I could see.” Jenna complained as they ran.

“Yes, well, should you find yourself running for your life through the woods at night, like both Ellie and I have, you’ll probably be glad you practiced at night as well.” Katherine sassed as they ran.

* * *

When they’d gotten back to where their things were, Ellie pulled out her phone to check the time. It showed several missed calls from Elena. Fear settled low in her chest as she called back. “Elena? What’s going on?”

Elena was nearly hysterical.  _ “Al-Alaric… Klaus was angry at us for not getting the coffins back. He had that hybrid try and hit Jeremy without his ring. H-he hit Alaric instead and Alaric died and then he came back but he was still hurt. It didn’t heal him. Oh my god why didn’t it heal him? And then I called for help but the hybrid compelled them away and then Jeremy… oh my god Jeremy killed him!” _

She said it all in a big rush, but Ellie managed to catch it. “I’m sorry. Jeremy  _ what _ ?” Ellie asked in shock.

_ “Je-Jeremy cut off the hybrid’s head.” _ Elena told her.

“Shit. Ok, Jenna and I will be there soon.” Ellie said as she frantically gathered her things. “Where do you want us to meet you?”

_ “Alaric’s at the hospital, but Ellie… I can’t. I can’t let Jeremy die.” _ Elena told her.  _ “I need your help. Ellie please, please talk to Klaus. Tell him I want to make a deal.” _

“Elena…”

_ “Ellie please, I’m begging you.” _

She sighed and nodded, though Elena couldn’t see. “I’ll go to Klaus as soon as I drop Jenna off at the hospital. Where do you want to meet at?”

_ “At the boarding house, please.” _

Once she’d hung up the phone, it felt like she was going at million miles per hour. She’d dropped Jenna off at the hospital and then practically broke every traffic law on her way to Klaus’ mansion. Now that Jenna was safely with Alaric, the rage set in. “Klaus!” Ellie screeched as she flung the front door open.

Klaus, the fool that he was, didn’t seem to realize the danger. Her hand flew back and his head snapped to the side with the force from her slap. “Bloody hell!” He growled as his hand went up to his cheek. “Are you out of your mind?”

“Are  _ you _ ?” She hissed. “You went after Jeremy? What the fuck Klaus!”

Had she been a little more rational, she might have been a bit more fearful of potentially inciting his wrath, but she didn’t take kindly to someone going after her family. It didn’t matter if it was Damon or Klaus, she was furious all the same. “I want my siblings back.” He told her simply.

“That doesn’t mean you get to hurt mine!” Ellie shouted. “You already killed my mom was that not enough for you?”

Her voice was pain filled, and she was surprised at how betrayed she felt. “Ellie…”

“I thought we were  _ comrades _ ?” She asked him, spitting the word as if it burned her. 

Klaus had gone wide eyed, for once, he looked regretful. “I have asked politely, Ellie. It seems that your sister and Damon respond best to violence. I wouldn’t have done it had they just cooperated.”

“Do not make excuses.” She hissed. “You made him take off his ring! You tried to kill him. Had you just wanted to warn them you wouldn’t have felt the need to take the ring off.” She took a deep breath as she fought the urge to stake him with something. She knew it wouldn’t kill him, but it would definitely hurt him. Suddenly she understood why Rebekah had reacted in the way she had when she’d first woken up. “You are going to come with me to the boarding house and you’re going to make whatever deal it is that Elena wants you to make.” When he opened his mouth she cut him off. “And you’re gonna do it silently.”

Klaus, who seemed unsure on how to react to her in her rage, just nodded. They drove in silence as Klaus observed the witch in the driver’s seat. He could practically see the rage radiating off her. Maybe, in his anger at Stefan and his need to have his siblings returned to him, he had acted a bit too rashly. She said nothing the entire way there, wouldn’t even look at him. When they arrived at the boarding house, she slammed her car door shut and strode up to the front door, knocking loudly. “Thank you for coming.” Elena told Klaus as she opened the door.

“I trust you have news of Stefan.”

“I couldn’t find him, but I have something else.” Elena told him. “I want to make a deal. Your sister for my brother. I return her and you leave Jeremy alone.”

Klaus raised an eyebrow before nodding. “Sounds like a steal.” She led them down to the basement, pushing open one of the heavy doors to reveal Rebekah, face down in the dirt and still in her homecoming dress. Even in her anger, Ellie spotted the look on Klaus’ face. “My poor sister.” He said softly. “I can’t turn my back on her for a moment.”

“You have Rebekah. A deal’s a deal.”

“The life of my sister in exchange for your brother? Yeah, I’d say that’s a bargain.” Klaus told her. “Consider him spared.”

“Jenna and Alaric too.” Ellie added suddenly. Klaus turned to look at her and she told him, “You’re not gonna touch Jenna or Alaric. You have already threatened their lives enough.”

He seemed to remember how angry she already was and conceded. “Alright.” He agreed with a nod. “All three of them will be spared.”

“You should know, I was the one that daggered her. When she wakes, she’ll come after me.” Elena said.

Ellie, who was already furious with Klaus, felt the rage build at Elena’s confession. Right now, she felt like she could stake a thousand dummies with the rage burning inside her. “I can control Rebekah. Besides, I still need your help finding Stefan.”

“I told you I don’t know where he is.” Elena insisted.

“You’re lying.” Klaus said as he pulled the dagger from Rebekah’s back. “Fortunately, you have no shortage of loved ones. If I don’t find my family, the question you should be asking yourself is, who’s gonna die next? Bonnie? Caroline?  _ Damon _ ?” Elena made a face at the mention of Damon and Ellie scowled. “It’s only a matter of time before Stefan gives me what I want.”

“He doesn’t care about me anymore.” Elena denied. “You made sure of that. You turned him into a monster. Now he’s your problem. And just so you know, in case Ellie hasn’t already told you, I’m not the only one Rebekah wants dead. She knows what you did to your mother. She knows that you killed her.” She actually scoffed at Klaus, as if she were better than him, before she walked to the door. “You can let yourself out.”

Once Elena was gone, he looked to Ellie. “Is it true?” He asked.

She cursed herself as she felt her rage disappear in the face of his vulnerable expression. “Yes.” Ellie confessed. “Elena kind of threw it in her face to get her on Elena’s side.” Whether she thought it was because she thought he deserved the truth, or because she was still angry, she didn’t know. But she added, “She was distraught. I held her as she sobbed her heart out. She didn’t deserve to find out like that. I don’t know what was worse for her, what you did, or that you lied about it for a thousand years. Either way, you owe her one  _ hell _ of an apology.” With that, she turned on her heel and left. She no longer wished to be anywhere near him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get more Katherine this chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it! As always, please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
> 
> Posted: 1/16/21


	52. Our Town

**Chapter 52: Our Town**

_ October 10, 2010 _

When Ellie woke up, she was unsurprised to find that she still had a lot of rage still pent up. She’d woken up when the sky had just barely started to turn orange with the morning sun. Katherine had kindly agreed to meet her in the woods for an early morning workout before Ellie had to get back. She needed to work out some of her rage before school. It was Caroline’s birthday, and she was Caroline’s best friend. Which meant her rage had to go on the back burner because Caroline deserved an amazing day.

Jenna, who was by no means a morning person, had also agreed to come out to the woods. If Ellie had to guess, she was worried about the whole issue of Klaus having Alaric run down by a hybrid. “What’s wrong?” Jenna asked as she watched Ellie hit the punching bag that Katherine had somehow gotten with force.

Katherine, who had been holding the bag in place, had also noticed the tension in her double’s shoulders. “Nothing.” Ellie denied.

Rolling her eyes, Katherine replied, “You’re a crappy liar, surprisingly enough. Now fess up.”

Ellie straightened her shoulders as she stopped throwing punches. “It’s Caroline’s birthday.” She told them.

“Why does that have you stressed out?” Jenna asked as Ellie pulled off her gloves. 

“It’s her first birthday since she became a vampire.” Ellie explained. “Maybe it’s nothing and everything goes on today like normal. I’m just worried about everything, that’s all.” Katherine had an expression that looked something like guilt, but it vanished in an instant. “But we can’t be here too much longer, I had to get stuff ready to decorate Caroline’s locker.” 

The orange of the bright morning sun had faded into a soft blue sky. They’d been out there for longer than they’d realized. Like last time, they finished their workout session with a run through the woods. Once they’d finished, Jenna and Ellie said their goodbyes to Katherine and headed back home. Had Ellie not been so focused on birthday prep for Caroline and had Jenna not been so sucked into one of her college essays, they might have realized that Jeremy was packing.

When she finally had everything ready to decorate Caroline’s locker, she let Jenna know she was leaving and headed off. It might have been petty to leave without seeing if Elena was ready, but she was still angry at her twin for daggering Rebekah when Rebekah had done nothing wrong. Given that Rebekah hadn’t shown up at their house, demanding for Elena’s head, Ellie could only assume that Klaus had left her daggered, which made her even angrier than she already was.

She should have drank some chamomile tea before she left the house. It probably would have helped, though it was too late for that now. When she arrived at school, she pulled into the open parking space next to Matt’s truck. “Hey.” Matt greeted her as she got out of her car. “Someone went all out.” He joked as he nodded his head to the nearly overflowing gift bag in the passenger’s seat.

“Well, someone has to.” She shot back as she smiled at him. Matt was a good neutral ground. He was kind and for the most part, he wasn’t involved in the supernatural business. When everything went down with Mikael, he was one of the only ones that had no reason to be angry at her. “Hold this for me would you.” She passed him the gift bag before getting her book bag.

“You’re a good friend.” He told her.

“Huh?” She asked in surprise as she locked her car.

“You guys have got a lot going on, but you still don’t forget the little things.” He commented softly as they walked in the building. “Caroline’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

She scoffed a little and nudged him with her shoulder. “You say that like you aren’t my friend too.” She replied. “You’re pretty great yourself. You didn’t act like I was some awful person for not going through with the plan.”

They’d arrived at Caroline’s locker and Ellie dropped her things down to start pulling out decorations. “You’re a lot of things, Ellie, but stupid isn’t one of them. Whatever it might have been, I know you wouldn’t have done what you did without a reason.” He shrugged as he passed her a piece of tape. It meant more to her than he probably realized, and she paused her decorating to hug him tightly. “What was that for?”

“For trusting me.” She said softly. Ellie glanced up and down the hall, and when she didn’t spot any of their friends, she sighed. “Do you wanna know what really happened?” 

“Of course.” He replied as they went back to decorating Caroline’s locker.

“At the party, Klaus told me that if something happened to him, his hybrids would kill Damon. That even in death they had their orders. I didn’t know what to do, so I went to Stefan.” She told him. She wasn’t sure how he would react to Katherine, and she wasn’t in the mood to find out. “I knew he wouldn’t want Damon to die, but we couldn’t just not go through with the plan without Mikael killing us all. Rebekah was terrified at the mere mention of Mikael. You should have seen the way Klaus reacted to him. We didn’t have any choice other than to kill Mikael.”

Matt’s jaw went slack. “Wait, you’re telling me you were doing it to help Damon and didn’t tell anyone?” He asked in shock. “I thought you hated him.”

“Hating him and wanting him dead are two different things.” She shrugged. “He’s Stefan’s brother. After everything Stefan has done for me and everything he’s done to keep Elena safe, I owed him that much.” She didn’t really talk about what went on during the summer. She didn’t know how to talk about it. But she hadn’t forgotten everything Stefan had done to help keep her sane. “Besides, Damon’s hopelessly in love with Elena, and if something were to happen, he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.”

“Hey, Donovan! Can you come help us move this desk?” One of the football boys called from down the hall.

“I think that’s your cue.” She told him. In all honesty, she felt a bit better having someone know the truth now.

“Yeah. Have fun decorating!” He replied as he set the bag down and went to help the boys.

Elena arrived shortly after Matt had left. There was an awkward tension, but they both seemed willing to push it aside for Caroline’s birthday. They were working in silence when Bonnie arrived. “Hey, sorry I’m late.” She apologized as she walked over. “I, uh, I got held up.”

“It’s ok. I just got here too.” Elena assured her. “Will you pass me the balloons? Thanks. What got you running late?”

“I, uh, was working on some new spells.” Bonnie explained.

Ellie looked over to her with interest. “Do you need any help? We haven’t gotten to practice together in a while.”

Bonnie gave her a tight smile and shook her head. “No, I got it. I was just really focused on what I was doing and lost track of time.” She replied. Ellie nodded in understanding. She couldn’t even count the number of times she had lost track of time while she was absorbed in a grimoire. “What about you, Elena? What had you running late?”

“Working out with Alaric.” Elena told them. “Hey, Ellie, do you think you could go check the parking lot to see if Caroline is here yet? I don’t want her to see this before it’s ready.” Ellie knew her sister well enough to know that the voice she was using was the one where she wanted someone to go away to talk privately. She’d used it countlessly on their parents when she wanted to talk boys with Ellie, Caroline, and Bonnie.

“Yeah, sure.” She agreed. Whatever she was planning on telling Bonnie, Ellie would find it out sooner or later.

* * *

After school ended, Ellie found herself propped against her car with Matt, Elena, and Bonnie before her. “Caroline didn’t show.” Bonnie said in disappointment. 

“Caroline never skips school on her birthday. She has too much fun getting happy birthday compliments from people.” Matt commented as he leaned against his truck. 

“So what are we gonna do about it?” Elena asked as she looked about the group.

“We move to Plan B.” Ellie said with confidence.

“We have a Plan B?” Bonnie asked in surprise.

Ellie grinned. “Well, we do now.” She replied. “Alright. Matt and Elena, go home and raid Alaric’s liquor supply, get something good. Bonnie, you and I are going to run to the store and we’re gonna get a cake and candles and party hats and whatever else. Then we all meet at Caroline’s. Let’s go to The Falls.”

“Wait… what do we do if she’s there?” Elena asked.

“Good point. I’ll go to her house to make sure the coast is clear and you guys can text me when you’re ready so I can let you know if she’s there.” Ellie decided. “Bon, can you get the supplies by yourself.”

“Of course.” Bonnie told her.

“Perfect, let’s go, people.” Ellie said as she clapped her hands together. “We don’t have all day.” With that, the four teens split up and headed off to their tasks. When Ellie arrived at Caroline’s house, she couldn’t see Caroline’s car in the drive, so she let herself in. “Caroline! You here?” She called as she walked through the house.

There was no response, so she sent a text to the others to let them know the coast was clear. However, they needed to hide their cars so that Caroline didn’t see them when she arrived. Bonnie texted back to tell her that she’d pick up Matt and Elena and they’d ride together. It was much easier to hide two cars instead of four. In the end, Ellie parked her car just off the driveway so that Caroline could still park in her normal spot. “How long do you think it’ll be before she gets here?” Matt asked once they’d arrived.

“Hopefully not long, but long enough that we can get everything ready.” Ellie said as helped Bonnie bring in the bag of supplies.

“What are we gonna do about the cars?” Matt asked curiously.

“I’ve got it covered.” Ellie said with a sly smile. She sensed the area around them, looking for Caroline’s energy. When she didn’t feel it in the immediate vicinity, she expanded her range and startled slightly when she felt it coming. “She’s coming. Take this stuff into the kitchen and hide.” Ellie said as they rushed to hide. She took a pink birthday crown and placed it on her head. She looked over to where her and Bonnie’s cars were parked. “ _ Invisique _ .” In an instant, the cars vanished from sight and Ellie felt a rush of pride at her handiwork.

They heard Caroline pull into the driveway as Ellie hid with the others. She came in and dropped her keys onto the table. The four of them nodded and at once, jumped out from their hiding spot and called, “Surprise!” Caroline was startled, but she smiled as Matt told her, “Happy birthday!”

“What are you guys doing here?” Caroline asked in surprise.

“Well, you blew off school and missed our work of birthday art, so, uh…”

“Change into warmer clothes, we’re going to The Falls. S’mores, campfire.” Bonnie added for Elena.

“Cake, like when we were little.” Elena told her.

“Except with tequila.” Matt added, causing Caroline to laugh.

“Aw, thanks, guys, really. Um, I’m just not really feeling my birthday this year.” Caroline confessed.

Bonnie was the first to react. “I’m sorry. What? You’ve already claimed your birthday as everyone’s favorite day of the year.”

“Yeah, and now it’s just a reminder that, technically, I’m dead. Look, I didn’t even like seventeen. And the only point of seventeen was to get to eighteen. It’s a filler year. I am stuck in a filler year.” Caroline explained.

“You’re not stuck, Caroline.” Elena denied.

“Yeah, I am, but it’s ok. You know, it’s all good. I will be fine. But I just need some time to wallow in it.” Caroline said.

Ellie paused for a moment, her thoughts racing before a new idea came to her. “Ok, well, I think I have another idea. But you still have to get dressed into something warmer because we’re still going out.” Caroline looked like she was going to protest, but Ellie cut her off. “What kind of best friend would I be if I let you wallow alone?”

Caroline sighed, but nodded and went to get dressed. “What’s the plan?” Bonnie asked curiously. 

“You’ll see, but get some flashlights and a couple blankets.” Ellie instructed. 

Once Caroline was dressed, they made their way out of the house. “Wait, where’s your cars?” Caroline asked when they only saw Caroline’s in the drive. Ellie winked at her before dropping the spell.

“Holy…” Matt said in surprise. “That’s so cool.”

“I try.” Ellie told him. “Alright, everyone into mine and Bonnie’s cars. When we pull out, Bonnie, follow me.” Caroline went with Ellie as Matt and Elena piled back into Bonnie’s car. By the time they got to where they had to park the cars, the sun was already setting. “Come on, it’s just a bit of a walk.” She assured them as Bonnie passed out flashlights to everyone.

“Where are we going?” Caroline asked curiously as they walked through the woods.

“You’ll see.” Ellie promised her. She’d spent a lot of time in the woods and the cemetery since she’d become a witch, which gave her the opportunity to be pretty familiar with her surroundings. “Oh, there it is.” She told them as her light hit the side of an old mausoleum.

Bonnie walked in first as she moved to avoid a thing of spiderwebs. “ _ This _ is creepy.” She decided as she glanced around the room. “Even for us.”

“No, Caroline was right. Technically, she’s dead.” Ellie said as she instructed Elena on where to place down the cake. “Sorry, but you don’t need a birthday. You need a funeral.”

Elena nodded in agreement and added, “You need to say goodbye to your old life so that you can move on with your new one.”

Caroline nodded as she pulled off her tiara. “Ok.” She placed it down as she took a moment to gather her thoughts before she said, “Here lies Caroline Forbes.”

“Cheerleader, Miss Mystic Falls, third grade hopscotch champion.” Elena said as she placed the candles in the cake.

“Friend, daughter… overachiever.” Bonnie added.

“Mean girl, sometimes, no offense.” Matt said as Caroline made a face.

She scoffed lightly before saying, “None taken.”

Ellie smiled at her before she said, “Best friend, loyal and loving and fierce. A force to be reckoned with.”

Elena spoke up again as she took the cake out of the box. “She was seventeen and she had a really good life. So, rest in peace, so that she can move forward.” She brought the cake over to where the others stood. “That’s what you really need. It’s what we all really need. Amen or cheers or whatever.” They all dissolved into laughter at that. “Uh, Ellie… do you think you could?” She moved the cake slightly in Ellie’s direction and Ellie didn’t need to be told twice. It only took a split second of focus before the small candles shot to life. “Nice. Ok, make a wish.”

* * *

They had fallen into a comfortable little party as they chatted and drank the alcohol that Matt and Elena had brought with them. Ellie had had a little bit to drink, but refused to drink too much since she had driven them and someone needed to stay sober enough to get them home. She was pretty sure that Caroline was the one that needed it the most. Caroline, on the other hand, had no reservations about getting drunk.

Caroline was a giggly drunk, and was all smiles as she got Matt another slice of cake. As he sat down next to Elena with the bottle of tequila, Elena snatched it away. “Nuh-uh. I need it more than you do, trust me.” She told him. Ellie frowned at her, but didn’t ask what she meant. “Caroline, what are you doing?”

“What? Hmm, huh, nothing.”

“Huh?”

“Hmm?”

“Ok, you’re a bad sober liar. You’re an even worse drunk liar.” Elena told her bluntly.

Caroline tilted her head before confessing, “I might have texted Tyler.”

“Caroline.” Elena chided.

“What? I’m delicate.” Caroline told her.

“You know, give her a break.” Bonnie defended. “You can’t control what everyone does all the time.”

Elena looked at her in shock. “Wow.” She replied.

“Ouch, Bon.” Matt said as he stood so that he could distance himself from them.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s Caroline’s birthday, funeral or whatever, but I just feel it’s really wrong that you compelled Jeremy to leave town.” Bonnie told her.

Ellie’s eyes shot wide. “I’m sorry. You  _ what _ ?” She asked as she looked over at Elena.

“I’m doing it to protect him.” Elena told them. “I want to give him a chance at a halfway normal life.”

“He should be able to choose how he wants to live it. You’re taking his choices away.” Bonnie replied.

“Bonnie, you can’t tell him.” Elena warned.

“Why? Are you going to compel me not to?” Bonnie asked.

Ellie, who had gone into shock at the turn of events, felt that rage itching under her skin like a fire that was trying desperately to burn bright. “Elena, what did you do?” She asked, her voice icy.

Bonnie gave Elena a look of disbelief. “You didn’t even tell her?”

“You  _ compelled  _ Jeremy?”

“Ellie, it’s the right thing to do.” Elena tried.

“You don’t get to make that decision, Elena!” Ellie snapped. “Does Jenna know you did this? Who knew about this?”

“Just Damon and Alaric. Ellie, you  _ can’t _ tell Jeremy.” Elena said.

“I have had just about enough of you telling me what I can and can’t do, Elena. You had absolutely no right to do that to him! What were you going to tell Jenna and I when we woke up and he wasn’t there? After everything have you learned nothing?” Ellie hissed as she stood from her seat. 

“It’s the right decision!”

“Says who? You? Because you’re oh so wise, right? Because you always know what you’re doing, right? You are not the adult here, Elena. Jesus you’re not even the older twin. You had no right to go behind Jenna’s back like that.” Ellie shouted.

“He isn’t safe here!”

“Klaus agreed to spare him, Elena! He made that deal with you, I was there. He won’t break the deal. The only reason Klaus is angry is because Stefan stole his family. What did you expect him to do? Politely ask for them back over tea?” She scoffed as her mind raced. “You know what, that’s fine. If we’re cool with having people compelled on command, I’m sure Klaus would love to compel Damon to undo what you had him do.”

“You can’t do that!” Elena shouted as she also rose.

“The hell I can’t! I’m done letting you call the shots. Screw that. I’m sure Jenna would be all for him compelling Damon.” Ellie told her. “Pretty sure she’s at the restoration fundraiser. I wouldn’t be surprised if Klaus was there too. It’ll make all of this go much easier.” She said before turning to Caroline. “I’m sorry, but apparently I have to go undo Elena’s idiot decisions.”

Caroline was silent from the unexpected turn of events, but accepted Ellie’s hug with ease. “Um, ok.”

“I love you, happy birthday or funeral whatever.” Ellie told her. Caroline returned the sentiment before Ellie turned on her heel. When Elena tried to block her from leaving, Ellie didn’t even feel bad about using her magic to force Elena out of the way. “You  _ do not _ get to try and stop me.” She snapped before she slammed the mausoleum doors behind her.

Nature reacted in accordance to Ellie’s fury. The wind was howling as she walked towards her car. She drove hastily, but the time it took to get to the restoration fundraiser did nothing to settle the anger that filled her. Katherine never mentioned anything about the Petrova Fire being volatile. She shouldn’t be surprised though, fire was always dangerous and apparently the fire in her was no exception. When she arrived, she rushed through the building, looking for either Jenna or Klaus. Jenna found her first, “Ellie, what are you doing here? I thought you were doing a birthday thing for Caroline.”

“Where’s Alaric?” Ellie asked.

“He just left a few minutes ago, said there was something he had to get done.” Jenna asked as she frowned. “What’s going on?”

Ellie pulled Jenna into a less occupied room. “Elena had Damon compel Jeremy to leave town. Apparently Alaric knew about it and didn’t stop her.” She explained.

“What?”

“She didn’t even tell me about it. I only found out when Bonnie told Elena she thought it was wrong.” Ellie replied. “I told her if she wanted to play it like that, that I would ask Klaus to compel Damon to undo his compulsion on Jeremy. Are you opposed to that?”

Jenna looked righteously angry. “No. No, I’m not opposed in the slightest. I saw Klaus earlier, I didn’t speak with him though.” She said as she straightened her shoulders. 

They headed out and when Ellie saw Damon, she made her way towards him. “You son of a-”

Damon was unfazed by her anger. “Not now, Sabrina. We’ve got a problem.” He said as he grabbed her by the arm, pulling her with him.

“Let me go!” Ellie hissed.

“Not yet. We have a problem.” He said again as his grip tightened. Ellie frowned as she glanced at Jenna. Something was really wrong, if his tone was anything to go by. It seemed her rage would settle long enough to find out if this was something important. “Klaus, we need to talk.” Damon said sharply as he interrupted Klaus’ conversation.

“If you’ll excuse me.” Klaus said politely as he allowed Damon to lead them into an empty room. “What now? You just pulled me away from a fascinating conversation about landscaping the town square.” 

“Stefan just grabbed Elena.” Damon said as he released Ellie and shut the door.

“What?” Jenna and Ellie asked together.

“Well, he’s getting desperate.” Klaus replied as if it were nothing to be concerned over.

“He’s gonna try and use her against you.” Damon warned. “Do what he says. Get rid of your hybrids.”

Klaus gave him a look. “Or what? Stefan would never dream of killing her.”

“Are you sure about that?” Damon asked. “He just tried to behead someone in the middle of a council party. He’s operating on crazy right now.”

“He tried to what?” Jenna asked.

“Well, crazy or not, that kind of love never dies.” Klaus told him with confidence. “He’s bluffing.”

“Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. But if you don’t want to believe him, believe me. I know my brother better than anyone and right now I don’t have a clue how far he is willing to take this. So, if he says blink, I suggest you blink.” Damon warned.

“We’ll see.” Klaus said as he let himself out of the room.

“I’ll deal with this.” Ellie said as she broke away from Damon and Jenna to follow the Original. “Klaus!” She called as she followed him outside.

“I see you’re speaking to me again.” He commented casually.

“What are you gonna do? What if Stefan actually hurts her?” She asked.

“He won’t. He’d die for her. He loves her.” Klaus replied.

“Normally, I’d agree with you. But Damon is right and Stefan is way over the edge.” Ellie replied.

When Klaus’ phone started to ring, he gave her a grin. “I guess we’re about to find out.” He answered his phone and said, “Stefan, how nice to hear your voice.”

_ “Tell your hybrids to get out of town, Klaus.” _ Stefan warned.

“Well, that’s not going to happen until I get my coffins back.”

Ellie moved close to Klaus to hear what Stefan was saying.  _ “Ok, well, then I’m going to drive your blood source off Wickery Bridge.” _ He threatened.

Her blood went cold at the mention of the bridge. “I don’t believe you, Stefan.” Klaus said simply. “You won’t kill her.” There was a sick crunch and tires squealing before Elena started coughing. “What’s going on?” Klaus asked.

_ “I just fed her my blood. No more hybrids if she’s a vampire.” _

“You won’t do it.”

_ “Really?” _ Stefan scoffed.  _ “Try me. Because your coffins are next to go.”  _ She could hear the car start to accelerate as Stefan added, _ “Say goodbye to your family, Klaus.” _

_ “Stefan, slow down!” _ Ellie could hear Elena scream.  _ “Stefan! Stefan, stop it!”  _

She grabbed Klaus frantically. “Please, please make him stop. Klaus, make him stop!”

Ellie and Elena’s screams mixed together before Klaus finally said, “Fine! I’ll send them away. You win.”

_ “Stefan! Stefan stop!” _ Elena screamed.

“Stop the car, Stefan!” Klaus growled.

Elena screamed as the tires squealed. “Elena!” Ellie cried, her heart beating violently in her chest. When it went silent, Klaus hung up the phone and Ellie’s legs gave out. Klaus caught her with ease, holding her up as she hyperventilated. “He almost… oh my god. Oh my god, oh my god.”

“Breathe little witch.” Klaus coached as Jenna ran towards them.

“Oh my god. What happened? Is Elena ok?” Jenna asked as she pulled her niece to her.

“He almost drove them off Wickery Bridge!” Ellie choked as Damon approached. “He almost killed her on Wickery Bridge.”

Jenna looked sick. “I should go get Elena.” Damon told her gently as he touched her arm.

In their fear over losing Elena, the rage at what they had done had temporarily subsided. “I’ll come with you.” Jenna agreed as Ellie forced her breathing to slow. “I need to make sure she’s ok. Ellie…”

“I drove here. I don’t think… I don’t want to be near that bridge right now.” Ellie confessed.

“Are you able to drive?” Jenna asked.

“Yeah. I just need a minute. Go get Elena. I don’t want her on that bridge a moment longer than she has to be.” Ellie insisted and she watched as Damon and Jenna rushed towards the parking lot.

Klaus reached out towards her. “Love?”

“Our parents died on the bridge, Klaus.” Ellie said softly. “Elena and I almost died on that bridge. He knew that. He was the one that saved us.”

Klaus hadn’t expected Stefan to be willing to go that far. He’d thought about what Ellie had said before. She was right. She had been a loyal comrade, saving his life from his father and he’d nearly killed her brother. There was an uncomfortable rush of guilt at having made Tyler bite Caroline. “Why don’t you come with me?” Klaus suggested. “There’s something I need to do.”

“Why should I?”

“Because I’d rather you be angry with me than be distraught.” Klaus told her gently. “Come now, we haven’t any time to waste.” She didn’t fight as he led her to her car or when he opened the passenger side door for her. She frowned when she saw Tyler approach Klaus, talking frantically as Klaus tried to calm him. With her emotions as all over the place as they were, she didn’t try to listen.

After Tyler had gone again, Klaus got in the car and started to drive. She tried to figure what he’d meant and concern started to creep in when she realized they were on the route to Caroline’s. “What did you do?” She questioned as she sat up straighter.

“Something I shouldn’t have done.” He confessed as they pulled into Caroline’s driveway. They walked up to the porch and Matt opened the door. “Tyler came to see me. Poor boy, he seemed quite distressed. He said Caroline had had a terrible accident.”

“You made him do this to her.” Matt said angrily. “He would have never done something like this.”

“Tell me you didn’t.” Ellie asked in horror. 

“I’m here to help, Matt. My blood will heal her, please ask the sheriff to invite me inside.” Klaus told him.

Ellie watched as the Sheriff approached them. “I know how this game works. You want something in return.”

Klaus shook his head at her. “Just your support.”

“Come in.” Sheriff Forbes said and Ellie followed behind Klaus as he headed for Caroline’s bedroom.

She heard Caroline gasp and ask, “Are you going to kill me?”

“On your birthday?” Klaus asked in surprise. “Do you really think that low of me?”

“Yes.” Caroline replied and Ellie stepped into the doorway. She caught Caroline’s eye and saw the flash of pain run through the blonde.

Klaus stepped towards the bed, pulling the sheet down just enough to reveal the nasty looking bite mark. The last time she’d seen one was when Stefan was bitten in the woods. It still made her feel sick. “Oh, that looks bad. My apologies.” Klaus said. “You’re what’s known as collateral damage. It’s nothing personal.” He reached forward and tapped a charm on Caroline’s bracelet “I love birthdays.”

Caroline scoffed weakly. “Yeah. Aren’t you like a billion or something?”

Klaus smiled fondly at Caroline, more fondly than he’d really looked at anyone that Ellie had seen him interact with. “We have to adjust your perception of time when you become a vampire, Caroline.” He told her with a small smile. “Celebrate the fact that you’re no longer bound by trivial human convention. You’re free.”

“No. I’m dying.” Caroline corrected.

Ellie watched as Klaus carefully sat down on Caroline’s bed. “And I could let you die… if that’s what you want.” A rush of panic filled her. She didn’t want Caroline to die. She couldn’t handle it. “If you really believe that your existence has no meaning.” He was nearly whispering as he spoke to her and Ellie found herself almost enchanted by the scene before her, and she dared not speak a word. “I’ve thought about it myself once or twice, over the centuries, truth be told.” He leaned close to Caroline and continued, “But I’ll let you in on a little secret. There’s a whole world out there waiting for you, great cities and art and music. Genuine beauty. And you can have all of it. You can have a thousand more birthdays. All you have to do is ask.”

Emotions danced across Caroline’s face as her eyes watered. “I don’t want to die.” Caroline told him in a small voice. 

He helped her sit up enough for him to hold her as he offered her his wrist. “There you go, sweetheart. Have at it.” She bit into his wrist and he gently rested his head on top of hers. “Happy birthday, Caroline.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are so so close to getting Elijah back and I literally can't wait. As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please leave a comment letting me know your thoughts.
> 
> Posted: 1/23/21


	53. The Ties That Bind

**Chapter 53: The Ties That Bind**

_ October 20, 2010 _

Elena’s little stunt had more ramifications that she’d obviously anticipated. The day after Caroline’s birthday, Jenna had gotten called to her school ungodly early. By the time she’d gotten back home, Jeremy was already gone. Neither Ellie nor Jenna had gotten to say goodbye to him. Ellie had stayed over at Caroline’s after she’d been healed by Klaus’ blood. She didn’t know that Elena was sending him away so soon, if she had, she would have stopped her. It didn’t really surprise Ellie that sending Jeremy away was Jenna’s breaking point.

Never once had Jenna really yelled at anyone. She was the chill one. Jenna was the one that you could talk to about anything without her really judging you for it. But sending Jeremy away had been the last straw. She’d screamed, had actually raised her voice at Elena and Alaric, for their disregard to whatever her opinion might have been. It had been a big betrayal of trust. Clearly, like Ellie, she hadn’t really forgiven them for lying about Isobel.

There was no way that she could have when she’d been upset and hurt enough to break up with Alaric. When she’d done it, Alaric had been trying to grab her arm to calm her down and he’d recoiled from her like he’d been burned. Neither Elena nor Ellie had expected that to come out of Jenna’s mouth, but she’d said it with certainty. He’d tried to plead with Jenna, but she wasn’t having it. Ellie and Elena watched in silence as Jenna reigned in her anger before telling Alaric to take his stuff and go.

They all knew that Jenna had hurt him when she’d told him that he wasn’t the parent of the house, that she was, and that he’d had no right to make such a decision about one of her kids without her. Alaric had finally seemed to realize how badly he’d messed up as Jenna’s expression went blank, concealing her emotions from them. He’d given in and packed his things and then left.

With the departure of both Jeremy and Alaric, an uncomfortable silence had taken hold of the house. Ellie didn’t last two days before she’d sought the reprieve of Elijah’s apartment. She and Jenna had been enraged at Elena’s action, which meant that they’d both given her the cold shoulder. Good intentions or not, she’d had no right to do what she’d done. During their workouts with Katherine a couple days later, Jenna confessed that she too had left home and was once again staying in her dorm the way she had when Alaric and Elena had lied about Isobel.

Katherine hadn’t been shy about her amusement of the situation. Well, she was amused by Elena getting the cold shoulder at least. “It's about time she gets a wake up call.” Katherine said idly as she filed her nails. Ellie had spent most of her time with Katherine since Caroline’s birthday. 

She was still upset with Klaus for what he’d done to Alaric and Caroline, and for what he’d nearly done to Jeremy. Thankfully, though, he hadn’t pushed her to spend time with him and had seemed sincere when he apologized for what he’d done. At the very least, he’d seemed more sincere than when Elena had apologized for all the lies she’d told. “You just hate her.” Ellie commented as she inspected the collection of nail polish that Katherine had.

“You are absolutely right. I really do.” Katherine confirmed with a grin. “It’s not like she doesn’t deserve it. She’s as bad as me but acts like she’s some innocent victim.”

Ellie wasn’t inclined to disagree, if she were honest with herself. Katherine never had any trouble stating her opinion about Elena, and typically added a comment reminding Ellie that she was Katherine’s favorite. “What is it about her that has you hating her so much? Because you hated her before you ever really interacted with her.”

Katherine shrugged as she leaned back on her couch. Apparently, Katherine had, at some point, acquired herself a house on the outskirts of town. It was nice and modest, very un-Katherine of her, but that also made it less likely for anyone to find her here. “Maybe I just hate her because I have the amazing ability to tell when someone isn’t that great of a person.” She said.

“Or… maybe it’s because Stefan’s in love with her and you’re in love with Stefan?” Ellie commented casually and watched as Katherine tensed.

“What did you say?” Katherine was a bit stiff, and had paused in the middle of her movement.

“You’re in love with him? Right?” Ellie asked as she carefully kept watch of her tone. She didn’t want Katherine to think that it was an accusation.

“Now why would you think that?” Katherine questioned as she kicked her feet up onto her coffee table.

Ellie walked over to the couch and pulled her feet up as she observed the vampire. “Because, you’re terrified of Klaus. You wanted nothing more than for him to die because of what he did to you and your family five hundred years ago. You even went so far as to stand in for Elena so that nothing went wrong and I know you’d love to see her dead. And yes, while you might have loved Damon at one point, and you probably do still care about him to some extent, I don’t think that alone is enough for you.”

“Mmhmm…” Katherine nodded as she hummed.

It was clear she was trying to feign nonchalance, so Ellie continued. “But you loved Stefan back when they were human. Enough to turn him into a vampire. I think that the thought of Stefan losing the only family he has, the thought that it would hurt him… I think that’s why you agreed when I asked you to. I think you still love him and because he loves Elena you hate her, because you think she stole him from you.”

“You sound very confident in that.” Katherine replied.

“Because I think I’m right.” Ellie told her. “There’s nothing wrong with it if that’s why you hate Elena. It’s honestly a pretty normal girl thing in all honesty. But we’re friends, right? You can talk to me about it.”

Katherine sighed heavily. “It doesn’t matter. He’s in love with Elena. What’s the point of wanting someone that doesn’t care about you?”

Ellie lit up. “So you _ do _ still love him!” She said in excitement. “And who says he doesn’t care about you?”

“What makes you think he does?” Katherine asked.

“Like I said the night of homecoming, he followed me and Elena around for  _ months _ because we looked like you. That’s got to mean something, right?” Ellie asked. “Plus, you’re the one that got him on our side. He listened to you when you warned him. I think his humanity is back on, he’s just got it dialed to hate.”

Katherine felt conflicted. It was true that she did still love Stefan. She’d come back to Mystic Falls for him and had been enraged to see that stupid human Elena had taken his heart from her. She wasn’t so naive as to think he’d spent all this time still in love with her. No, that had been Damon. But it didn’t mean that her feelings had changed. Stefan had been an innocent love. He had wanted nothing from her but her love and affection. He’d taken things at her pace, never pushing for more than she was willing to give.

While she’d enjoyed what she had with Damon, and he’d been the more aggressive of the two brothers, there was something about Stefan. It wasn’t like she was something fragile, but Stefan had treated her with a gentleness that she was not accustomed to. No one in her five hundreds years had treated her with such reverence, not even the man she’d loved enough to bear a child with. Stefan had treated her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him. While she wasn’t sure if she had been his first or if she’d even been the first girl he’d held an affection for, he had treated her like she was everything.

When Klaus had courted her, it had been because he wanted to sacrifice her, because he’d wanted her blood. When Elijah had courted her, while it had seemed like he’d truly cared for her, what he felt for her wasn’t enough to protect her from Klaus. Even if Elijah had cared for her as much as he’d made it seem, he’d loved Klaus more than he would ever love her. She would never come first for him. When Damon had courted her, it had been caused, in part, by an undeniable sexual attraction. He’d lusted for her, and that had turned to love.

But Stefan, with Stefan he’d been satisfied just to be graced by her presence. He’d been happy just to walk through the gardens and speak with her. Even the most fleeting of touches had made him happy. When Damon had been off at war, she and Stefan had spent time in the parlor discussing books. He’d always encouraged her opinions. They’d spend ages walking across the property as they discussed their hopes and dreams. He’d had a light in him. It was special and pure and bright and as cruel as Katherine could be, she’d have done anything to keep that light from going out.

Katherine had been through enough to not be so foolish as to let herself hope, but she trusted Ellie enough to know that the girl would not reveal the nature of her lingering affections to anyone. “Well, I suppose time will tell what Stefan actually feels.” She said lightly, as if it wouldn’t bother her either way. “But what about you and Stefan?”

Ellie tilted her head in confusion. “Me and Stefan? What about me and Stefan?”

“Don’t think I didn’t know how close you guys were before we ended up back in Mystic Falls.” Katherine told her. “You haven’t fallen for his charms now, have you?”

Ellie couldn’t help the unladylike snort that came from her. “No, I haven’t ‘fallen for his charms’.” Ellie assured the other girl. Her laughter died down as the reason for her closeness to Stefan pushed itself to the front of her mind. “Do you wanna know why Stefan and I are closer now than we were before?”

“Of course.” Katherine said, though it was without her usual sass.

“After the sacrifice, I was struggling. John was dead, I’d had to leave my family, and a woman who had done nothing wrong died because I saved Jenna.” Ellie said as she pulled her knees up to her chest. “And while Klaus wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought he’d be, there were times that our search got really difficult for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Klaus never made me watch the murders, but sometimes I couldn’t get far enough away fast enough and I’d still have to hear them scream. There was one night that we’d been searching and they had this girl. They were trying to get information out of her. Klaus sent me away when they’d gotten what they wanted and she screamed for me. She’d called me by my name. I had to listen to her beg me for help before the pain got to her and all she could do was scream and scream and scream.”

“Ellie…” Katherine had reached over to take a hold of one of Ellie’s shaking hands.

“We’d been in a hotel and Klaus had gone off somewhere. I had a panic attack. It was like I couldn’t focus on any of my surroundings. It felt like I was drowning. Stefan was there. He was so good. I remember him grabbing my face to force me to look at him. He kept talking until I could actually hear him. He kept going until it didn’t feel like my heart was going to explode. Once my breathing was somewhat normal, the horror kind of set in. I broke down in tears. He just held me as I cried.” Ellie explained, the words tumbling out of her mouth like she couldn’t stop it even if she tried.

“Jesus Christ.” Katherine said softly. She knew there was no way that Ellie would have made it out of being stuck with Klaus unscathed. She wasn’t sure if this was worse than what she’d expected to happen, or better.

“After that, Stefan was worried about me. He tried his best to make sure I was ok. Klaus was more focused on Stefan becoming the Ripper than focusing on me.” Ellie confessed. “I figured out Stefan’s tells. I knew when he was struggling and I wanted to make it better for him like he’d done for me. It’s kinda hard to not be close when Stefan was the only one I could trust without reservations.”

“You were lucky to have him with you.” Katherine agreed. “He was lucky to have you.” She had been worried about the two of them in all honesty. She had to keep a careful distance so that she wouldn’t be found out by Klaus, but she’d watched them from afar. Knowing what she did now, it made a lot of sense that she and Stefan were close. Ellie had the same light in her that Stefan did. There was something pure about them both, even when they’d done and seen bad things.

Ellie scoffed slightly. “I don’t think I’d be able to tell Elena that.” She admitted. “I think she would somehow find something to judge. God knows it seems to be her favorite pastime.”

“Which is funny, because even with all the bad things I’ve done, I wouldn’t have compelled my little sister away.” Katherine told her.

* * *

Ellie had just gotten home from Katherine’s when her phone rang. “Hello?”

_ “Hey, Ellie, are you busy?” _ Sheriff Forbes asked.

She placed down her bag as she sat on the arm of the couch. “Not really, I just got home. Is something wrong?” She asked worriedly.

_ “No, no, nothing like that. I think this might actually be a good thing. Do you think you could come by the house? I’m at work and I think I might need you to play mediator.” _ Sheriff Forbes replied.

“Mediator?” Ellie asked curiously. “For what?”

_ “Tyler asked me to call Bill. He wants to break the sire bond because he hurt Caroline. I don’t know how she’s gonna react to them at the house. I figured you could help.” _ She explained.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll head over there now.” Ellie promised.

_ “Thank you so much. I have to get back to work, but thank you for helping me out.” _

“Anytime, Sheriff.” It was only after Ellie had hung up that she realized that she’d called Elijah’s apartment home. She startled slightly at the realization. Instead of trying to understand why she’d thought of the apartment in such a manner, she grabbed her things and headed out. When she arrived at Caroline’s there was only one car in the drive. It was unfamiliar, so she assumed it was most likely Bill’s. “Hello?” She called as she walked inside.

Tyler appeared from the living room. “Ellie!” He called in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Sheriff Forbes asked me to come play mediator.” Ellie replied. She noticed Mr. Forbes standing just behind Tyler. “Hi Mr. Forbes. It’s nice to see you again.”

She hadn’t seen him since he’d divorced the sheriff. “It’s nice to see you too, Ellie.”

“If I could ask, why exactly did Tyler go to you for help?” Ellie asked. At his surprised expression, Ellie added, “I haven’t exactly been kept in the loop lately.”

He nodded his head in understanding. “Ah yes, Tyler mentioned it. He said they were worried about where you stood with Klaus.” Mr. Forbes said as she jolted slightly in surprise. They were worried about that? Did they actually think that she’d let Klaus hurt them? “Tyler asked for my help to break the sire bond because I have the ability to resist compulsion.”

“You can… how can you do that?” Ellie asked in shock. 

“With training.” He said confidently. There was the sound of a car pulling in the drive. “That’ll be Caroline. Let’s give her and Tyler a moment, shall we?” 

Ellie allowed him to lead her into the kitchen as the front door opened. “What are you doing here?” Caroline asked as she spotted Tyler.

“I came to apologize.” Tyler replied.

“Apologize?” Caroline asked in disbelief. “You bit me. I could have died. I think we’re way past apologies, Tyler.”

“That’s the problem. Klaus told me to do it and I said no. And then, it just happened anyway. Like it was completely out of my control.” Tyler explained. “That’s why I had your mom call him.”

“Daddy?” Caroline asked softly.

“Hi, Caroline.”

“I thought since he could resist compulsion, maybe he could teach me to resist a sire bond.” Tyler added.

“Can you help him?” Caroline questioned.

“I’m gonna try.”

“Why?”

“Because he made a mistake. And now he wants to make good. And I understand that.” Mr. Forbes said. It was obvious that he was referring to something specific, but Ellie didn’t know what.

Ellie, who was going to do exactly what Sheriff Forbes asked and play mediator, stepped towards Caroline before turning back to her dad. “So what exactly are we going to do?” She asked.

“We’re going to go to the Lockwood cellars where we won’t be interrupted.” Mr. Forbes explained. Caroline looked skeptical, but she didn’t protest. When they arrived at the cellar, Ellie could guess what the plan was as Tyler pulled off his jacket and shirt. “To break the bond, Tyler needs to shift.”

Caroline was clearly unhappy at the thought of it. “How do you know this is going to work?” She asked her father as he helped chain Tyler up.

“It’s a process. It took decades to train myself to resist compulsion. The brain’s like a muscle. The more you use it, the more it can do. A sire bond, at its core, is about one thing… gratitude. If you believe you owe Klaus your life, ask yourself why?”

“I was cursed.” Tyler replied. “Every full moon, I had to change into a wolf. It was torture. Klaus took that away.”

“He freed you from your pain and you feel indebted to him. To break the sire bond, you’ve got to make yourself turn. Own your pain, then you’ll owe Klaus nothing and you’ll be free.” Mr. Forbes said.

“But how can he turn?” Caroline asked. “It’s not a full moon.”

“He doesn’t need one. You’re a hybrid now, right? I mean, you can turn at will or not, am I right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know how to just… start.” Tyler confessed.

“Now you’re making excuses.”

Mr. Forbes tightened some of the restraints holding Tyler. “You don’t understand! When I turn, I break every bone in my body.”

“You asked for my help. This is the only way.” Mr. Forbes said sharply before leaning close to Tyler. “How badly do you want your freedom?”

Tyler turned to look at Caroline and the sight of her seemed to strengthen his resolve. “Ok.” He agreed.

“Ok.” Mr. Forbes repeated as he stepped away from Tyler to stand next to Caroline. Tyler backed away from them, yanking on the chains to check that they were secure. There was a pause before he started to breathe heavier and his eyes shot wide open, his natural brown replaced with an unnatural yellow. Ellie flinched as Tyler’s arm twisted at an odd angle. It cracked as he cried out in pain.

“Oh my god.” Ellie said in horror as she listened to his bones break sharply. She’d seen it happen before, but somehow with it being Tyler it was worse. She stepped closer to Caroline, holding the girl close as she struggled to watch him suffer. Tyler collapsed to the ground and so did Caroline. The blonde was biting her nails anxiously as Tyler cried.

“I can’t. I can’t.” Tyler panted.

“Try harder.” Mr. Forbes said coldly.

“Can’t he just rest for one second?” Caroline asked as she stood up.

Mr. Forbes was focused on the task at hand and snapped, “We’re doing this my way, Caroline. If you can’t handle it, you should go.”

“He’s right, Caroline. Just go.” Tyler insisted.

“What? No! Tyler!”

“Go, Caroline. Ellie you too.” He told them.

Ellie looked over at Caroline before looking at Mr. Forbes’ pleading expression, before pulling the blonde towards the door. “You’ve got this, Ty.” Ellie said encouragingly before pulling Caroline away. “Come on.” 

Caroline let Ellie pull her away and they sat down not far from the entrance. “This is awful.”

“Yeah, yeah it is.” Ellie agreed as they heard Tyler cry out again. “What was your dad talking about when he was talking about knowing where Tyler was coming from, about fixing a mistake?”

Caroline tensed slightly before it drained away. “When Mrs. Lockwood found out that I was a vampire, she called my dad. He um, he tried to force me to be able to resist the desire for blood.” She stuttered slightly as she stumbled over her words.

“Force you… how?” Ellie asked worriedly.

It seemed like Caroline didn’t really want to answer before she sighed and confessed, “Something similar to this, but a step closer to torture.”

“Caroline.” Ellie pressed.

“He took my daylight ring and opened a window when I couldn’t control myself.”

“Oh, Care…” Ellie said softly as she reached out to hug Caroline. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You’d spent your summer with a psychopathic hybrid that was killing people left and right. I guess it just didn’t seem as important. You were going through a lot, I didn’t want to make it worse.” Caroline told her.

Ellie pulled away sharply and waited for Caroline to look at her before she said, “Caroline Forbes, you are my _ best _ friend. Don’t ever think that you can’t talk to me. There is nothing that I could go through that would make me not want to be there for you. You got it?”

Her expression must have been ridiculously intense, because Caroline ended up smiling. “Yes, I got it.” She agreed. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” After that, they sat together in relative peace as they waited. There weren’t as many cries of pain coming from the cellar, but the ones that they heard were desperate and pain filled. Somehow a more painful cry was worse than several cries.

“I can’t stand to listen to this.” Caroline confessed as she stood.

“Your dad probably meant for us to leave.” Ellie told her. “They can just call us when they’re done, and we can come back and pick them up.” She suggested.

* * *

They’d been at Caroline’s for a while when Ellie’s phone began to ring again. “Hello.” Ellie said as she answered the call.

_ “Hello, love.” _ Klaus greeted. Something had him in a good mood, the tone of his voice gave it away.  _ “How would you like coming on a trip with me?” _

“A trip where?” Ellie asked tiredly. “You had Tyler bite Caroline and nearly killed my brother if not for Alaric. You  _ did  _ kill Alaric. We’re not exactly best buddies at the moment, Klaus.” She reminded him.

_ “Would I earn back a bit of your favor if I told you we were going to go get Elijah?” _ Klaus asked.

“What?” Ellie said in shock as she looked over to Caroline. It didn’t seem like Caroline knew what he was talking about either. “What are you talking about?”

_ “I’ve just discovered the location of Elijah and the rest of my siblings. It’s clear from the way you speak of my dear older brother that you hold him in high regards. I was simply curious as to whether or not you’d like to tag along as I go to retrieve them.” _ Klaus told her. His tone was so smug that she could just see him smirking even though she wasn’t there.

It took a moment for her brain to really process what he’d told her before she replied, “Yes. Yes, I want to go.”

_ “Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.” _

She looked over to Caroline for permission before saying anything. Once Caroline nodded her head to let her know it was alright, she told him, “I’m at Caroline’s. I’ll come out to the car to meet you. There’s no need for you to piss her off with your presence.”

_ “Fair enough. I’m on my way.” _ Klaus said before he hung up the phone.

“How did he find out where they were?” Caroline asked curiously.

“I have no idea.” Ellie confessed. “Do you know where they are? Or where Stefan is?”

The blonde shook her head. “No, if the others knew anything, they never said anything to me about it.” After a pause, she added, “Thanks for telling him not to come to the door. I really didn’t want to see him.”

Ellie gave her a soft smile. “I didn’t figure that you would after what he did. I’m sorry about that, by the way. I had no clue that he’d told Tyler to do that. I would have tried to stop it if I had known.”

“You can’t control Klaus. You’re not responsible for his actions either; I know that. You’re just in a weird situation that you got into because you saved Jenna. I’d be a pretty crappy friend if I just ignored that and gave you the cold shoulder or something.” Caroline shrugged.

“That means a lot to me, Care. It really does. I feel like Elena somehow thinks that I’m like blindly loyal to Klaus or something now. You know she basically told me nothing about the whole plan with Klaus. She daggered Rebekah and didn’t even tell me.” Ellie huffed. “She doesn’t tell me anything anymore as if I’m the irrational one.”

“You’re still mad at her for what she did to Jeremy.” Caroline said, though it came out more as a statement than a question.

“Yeah, I’m really mad. I don’t even know where he is, Care. She didn’t tell me, and it’s not like I’ve actually wanted to be at home lately, so we haven’t really had much time to talk anyways.” Ellie explained.

“I don’t blame you for being mad. I might not have said anything during my birthday, because I was moping, but she was out of line and definitely shouldn’t have done it without telling you or Jenna.” Caroline replied. “You’re right to be angry. I know I haven’t been the best best friend lately, but I’m still on your side.”

Ellie smiled softly at Caroline before reaching over to hug her. “You’re the best best friend in the whole world. Don’t you ever doubt that.” Ellie assured her. The girls broke into laughter at her statement, and enjoyed their few moments of peace before they heard a car pull into the drive.

“That’ll be Klaus.” Caroline said as she and Ellie stood. “You gonna be ok?”

“Yeah, I will be.” Ellie promised. She headed outside and quickly slid into the passenger seat. “Where are they?” She asked him curiously as he pulled out of the drive. “How did you find them?”

Klaus was grinning. “I have my methods, love. Pesky little witches love to intervene.” He told her. “Stefan wasn’t as crafty as he thought.” It wasn’t long before Ellie recognized where they were headed, but she didn’t mention it. She should have known that the witches would have helped Stefan hide the coffins. They hated Klaus as much as Stefan did. “Let’s go. It seems like no one is home.” He told her.

“Yeah.” Ellie agreed as she followed him inside. It was dark, but Ellie could feel the presence of the other witches and their magic. They headed down to the basement, but there were no coffins in sight. “Where are they?”

“We’ll find out.” Klaus said darkly. “Come.” He pulled her into the shadows and they waited. It wasn’t long before they heard someone enter. Damon appeared a moment later, looking around the basement with wide eyes. “What took you so long?” He asked as they walked out of the shadows. “Hiding behind your witchy friends and in squalor, no less.”

The flames of the candles shot unnaturally high as Klaus dropped to the ground, screaming in pain and holding his head. Ellie couldn’t help but snort slightly. The witches took great offense to being insulted. Even Damon was grinning. “Insulting a bunch of dead witches… not smart. I made the exact same mistake the first time I came in here.” Damon informed him.

“Well, you know the funny thing about witches is that living or dead, they care about their own.” Klaus said before he groaned as the flames shot higher. “A hundred dead witches have a thousand living descendants…” A guttural scream came from him as Ellie felt the magic whipping around them. “And I have no problem killing every last one of them if I don’t get my coffins back.” He threatened as he forced himself to his feet. “As we speak, my hybrid friend is prepared to end the Bennett line.”

“What?” Ellie asked him as the candles died down.

Klaus ignored her, walking over to Damon and getting in his face. “Now, please… show me the coffins.” It felt like a veil dropped and with the blink of an eye, three coffins appeared out of nowhere. “Here we are.” Klaus said in pleasure before he stopped. “Where’s the fourth?” Damon just grinned. “Show me!” Klaus demanded.

“Well, eh, here’s the thing. They can’t. It’s not here.” Damon informed him.

“What did you do?” Klaus asked.

“Well, Bonnie gave me the heads up. I mean, I didn’t have enough time to get all four, but I did have time to get one.” Damon confessed.

There was something going on that Ellie didn’t know about. “I will tear you limb from limb.” Klaus threatened. “And only then, when you are a writhing mass of blood and flesh, will I rip your heart from your chest.” It was the first time in a while that Ellie was reminded of how dangerous Klaus really was, but Damon seemed unbothered.

“Sorry. Same rules apply. Leverage and all. I know you want your family back, but something tells me you want what’s in that coffin a lot more.” Damon said smugly. “See you later, Sabrina.” With that, Damon was gone.

“What’s in the fourth coffin?” Ellie asked curiously.

“It doesn't matter.” Klaus snapped irritably. “We need to get these coffins out of here.” He whipped out his phone and sent a text to someone. “The truck will be here soon. We’ll take them home.” There was a sudden curiosity about his other siblings, and she was tempted to open the other coffins, but resisted the urge. Now that the fourth coffin was missing, it was possible Klaus would be in a mood and she didn’t feel like having him get angry with her.

A blonde hybrid was there not long after Klaus said that he was on his way. “I’ve got the truck just outside the house but it’ll take a minute to get them up the stairs without damaging them.” He explained.

Klaus turned to Ellie. “You can help speed along the process, can you not?” He asked.

“Yeah, I can. Just tell me where to take them.” Ellie said. With a wave of her hand, the coffins began to float. The hybrid walked up the stairs first with the coffins floating carefully behind him and Ellie and Klaus at the back. “Where do you want me to put them?” She asked once they were all outside.

The hybrid instructed her on where to place the coffins and once he and Klaus were satisfied, they pulled the truck closed. “Let’s go then.” Klaus said. “We’ll meet you at the house.” The hybrid went ahead and drove off carefully as Ellie and Klaus walked back to where he’d parked the car. Ellie wanted to ask him again about the fourth coffin but knew it wouldn’t go well.

When they arrived at the mansion, the hybrid was already there and was coming outside with trolleys to take the coffins inside. She followed Klaus inside and watched as the hybrid brought them in. As he brought in the last coffin the hybrid said, “You’ve got your family back. Finally. Are you going to open them?”

“Not quite yet.” Klaus said with a smile.

Ellie whipped around and looked at him with wide eyes. “What? I thought you were going to undagger them.” She asked.

“I still have some unfinished business to take care of.” He told the hybrid. Ellie felt annoyance settle in. She shouldn’t have been so stupid as to think he’d actually undagger them. 

He started to walk off, and Ellie rushed after him. “What business?” The hybrid asked curiously. 

Klaus turned, most likely to tell the hybrid off when the hybrid let out a groan of pain. Ellie turned to look at him but watched as he fell to the ground. Her jaw dropped as she spotted Elijah standing just behind the hybrid, a bloody heart in his hand. “So Niklaus…”

“Elijah?” Klaus actually looked fearful as Elijah stepped towards them.

“What’d I miss?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And he's back! We also got more Katherine this chapter! Also, you guys, Fanfiction.net is giving me an error again, so I was wondering if you guys thought that it would be a good idea for me to make a twitter account so I can give you guys updates on the story or if things were messed up either here or there. Plus it would be another way for me to interact with you guys. Please let me know what you think and as always please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!


	54. Bringing Out The Dead

**Chapter 54: Bringing Out The Dead**

_ October 20, 2010 _

“You look surprised to see me.” Elijah commented as he pulled out his handkerchief to wipe off the blood from his hand. “I guess it wasn’t you that removed the dagger from my chest.” He looked furious. To Ellie, he looked more dangerous than he’d had when they first met and she had been terrified of him then.

“You look like you could do with a drink.” Klaus told him. “And we have a lot to discuss, so shall we?” Klaus actually stuttered as he spoke. Ellie had never heard him stutter before, not even with Mikael. He hadn’t sounded nearly as scared with Mikael, just angry and hurt. This was fear. Ellie, sensing the danger before her, carefully backed away from Klaus. The moment she did, Elijah struck, punching Klaus before slinging him through the double doors. As the glass shattered, Klaus called, “Easy! I just finished renovating.” He lunged at Elijah, slamming the older Original through a table. “You know, you have every right to be mad at me, but I kept my word. I reunited you with our family.”

Ellie rolled her eyes at his sarcastic response. “Being an ass when he already looks like he wants to kill you probably isn’t the smartest idea.” Ellie said just before Elijah stood and threw two heavy punches to Klaus’ face. “Told you.”

Klaus stumbled into the room where the coffins were and opened one of the other coffins, pulling out a dagger and pinning Elijah down. “Don’t make me do this to you again, Elijah!” He cried.

She jolted forward, looking at the scene before her anxiously. She didn’t want Elijah to be daggered again. Both Originals were panting as Elijah said, “Come on. Use it. I dare you. You’ll have Kol to deal with.”

After a tense pause, Klaus lowered the dagger. “Mikael is dead.” Klaus confessed.

“What did you say?” Elijah asked as he stood up straight. 

“I killed him with his own weapon.” Klaus explained. “He’s gone, Elijah. Forever.” 

“Eleanor, is this true?” Elijah looked to her for confirmation.

She nodded. “He killed him at the homecoming dance. The others tried to use Mikael to kill Klaus, but Klaus managed to kill Mikael first.” She replied.

“Our little witch here helped me see to that. Gave me an opening to finish him off.” Klaus added with pride.

Elijah looked to be in a state of shock as he looked between the two. He turned back to Klaus. “Why do our family remain in these coffins?” He asked in bafflement. “Finn for over nine hundred years. Kol for over a century.” His tone of voice made it obvious that he was incredibly angry at the fact. She found herself curious about the two other brothers in coffins. Elijah never really spoke of his other siblings and neither did Rebekah nor Klaus.

“Because of Stefan Salvatore.” Klaus explained. “He holds the one thing keeping me from freeing them. There are things that you do not know about our past, Elijah. Our mother’s death. Things I never want you to know. But I’m ready to tell you now.” Ellie wasn’t sure if she was even supposed to be there for this conversation, but she refused to move from her spot. “I only ask that you remember the oath of loyalty you once swore to me.”

Ellie watched as Klaus dipped the dagger into a small bowl before walking over to the coffin of Kol. “What are you doing?” Elijah asked tightly. He looked very much like he wanted to stop Klaus from daggering their brother yet again, and Ellie moved on instinct and wrapped her hand around his arm. She knew that look on his face. It’s exactly what she felt when she couldn’t protect Jeremy. It was exactly what she felt when she found out Elena had gotten Damon to compel Jeremy go somewhere else.

She felt sick as the dagger slid into their brother’s chest. The noise it made was awful and made Ellie’s stomach turn. “Always and forever.” Klaus said to him. Had Elijah said that phrase before? She tried to recall when he’d said it. Maybe it had been when he was explaining everything to her and Elena. “I need you to stand by my side, be my brother. Help me destroy Stefan and I promise you our family will be whole again.”

The look on Elijah’s face spoke volumes. She knew that family was a very big thing for Elijah and she knew that it would be hard for Elijah to deny his brother when Klaus was asking him to be his brother again. Elijah looked both conflicted and angry, so Ellie squeezed his arm in warning. “Why don’t you give Elijah some time to get back to feeling himself?” Ellie suggested to Klaus. “He did just wake up from being dead and stuck in a box. He should eat something.” 

Klaus, for once, seemed to listen to Ellie and backed down. “You’re right, of course. Why don’t you take one of the cars and go for a bite brother, it’ll help you feel more like yourself.” Klaus agreed. “Take your pick of any of the rooms. There’s several to choose from.” He offered as he made a grand sweeping gesture with his arm, showing off the house. “Of course, that offer goes to you as well, little witch. You haven’t been here much, I haven’t had a chance to tell you that you’re more than welcome to stay here.”

She was only somewhat surprised by the offer. While she was still bound by her deal to go where he went, she hadn’t entirely expected him to offer her a place to live. “Thanks, Klaus. Come on Elijah, can you take me to Caroline’s? My car is there.” Her offer was in part to just get Elijah out of the house so that he didn’t attempt to kill Klaus before they could talk.

He had yet to tear his eyes away from his brother, but he nodded stiffly. “Of course, Eleanor. Let’s go.” He said as he finally looked away from Klaus. 

“The keys to all the cars are in the garage.” Klaus informed them.

Elijah gave a hum of acknowledgement. “You might want to get the blood cleaned before the stains set in.” He said casually before he offered his arm to Ellie. She saw the odd look on Klaus’ face, like he didn’t know how to respond, before she took Elijah’s arm and they headed off.

Her grip was tight on his arm as they walked. When they arrived in the garage there were three expensive looking cars parked. She picked up a random key and clicked the unlock button before turning to Elijah. “Are you ready to go?”

He nodded and opened the passenger side door for her. Once they were out of the driveway, Ellie turned to him. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner.” She apologized, it reminded her of the last time he’d been daggered and then woken up again. “Who undaggered you?” She asked in confusion.

“It wasn’t you?” He asked in surprise.

“No. Stefan stole all of the coffins because of what Klaus did to him.” Ellie explained.

“What did Klaus do?” Elijah inquired.

Ellie sunk a little farther into her seat. “It honestly might be easier to ask what Klaus didn’t do.” She told him. “You need to eat right? To feed whatever? So that you feel more like yourself?”

He cleared his throat and nodded. “Yes, a drink would help.”

“Well, why don’t you drop me off at Caroline’s and I’ll meet you back at the apartment?” She suggested. “I’ve uh… Elena and I got into it again, I’ve been staying at the apartment again.”

It was obvious to him that she wasn’t sure how he’d feel about her staying in his place. He gave her a reassuring smile. “Eleanor, you are always welcomed to stay, whenever you want.”

“Thanks.” She told him as they pulled into Caroline’s drive. “I’ll see you soon.” She told him before she got out of his car and into hers. The drive to the apartment didn’t take long. On instinct, she waved to the woman at the front desk before she headed upstairs. She instinctively started to tidy up the apartment, even though it wasn’t really messy to begin with. It was something her mother had done whenever they were expecting company.

She didn’t have to wait very long before she heard the jingling of keys and the door opening. “Eleanor.” He greeted as he came in. 

“Hi.”

He moved to pour himself a drink before pouring her one as well. “Now, what have I missed?” He asked as he passed her a drink.

“A lot.” She sighed as she sunk down onto the couch, pulling her legs up to her chest. “Where to start?” She took a moment to collect her thoughts. “I guess I’ll just start at the beginning. After the sacrifice happened and Klaus daggered you, he took Stefan and I on a hunt to find a werewolf pack for him to turn into hybrids. Took all summer before we found one in the mountains. Klaus tried to turn them all but…”

She hesitated as the sick feeling settled in as she thought about what had happened in the woods. It had been the worst thing she’d ever seen. “What happened?” He asked, his voice soft like he knew she was struggling to figure out how to tell him what happened.

“It went wrong. All the werewolves died in transition. Klaus went to this witch in Chicago named Gloria to try and get her to figure out what was going wrong, but she needed Rebekah’s necklace. Wait… how come you didn’t say anything about Rebekah’s necklace being Elena’s necklace?” Ellie asked curiously.

“When I saw it, I recognized it at once, but I also knew it was possible that Rebekah lost it at some point. She would have never willingly parted with it.” Elijah explained. “However, I am curious how Elena came to be in possession of it.”

“Apparently Stefan knew Rebekah and Klaus back in the twenties, but when they were running from Mikael, he compelled Stefan to forget. She dropped her necklace and he picked up. And yeah, she told me it was your mom’s.” Ellie replied. “Klaus undaggered her and we came back to Mystic Falls because Rebekah knew something up with Stefan. The Original Witch told Bonnie that Elena needed to die, but Klaus basically said he would never do anything other than the opposite of what she said and figured out that Elena’s blood was the key.”

“Elena’s blood is the key?” He asked in interest as he took a sip of his drink.

“Yeah, they have to use her blood to transition.” She explained. “But apparently the others found out where Mikael was and told Klaus and he left town, but left me, Stefan, and Rebekah here while he was gone.”

“And how did my sister behave?” Elijah questioned. “She has never been particularly fond of the doppelgängers.”

She couldn’t help but snort. “Yeah, I noticed that.” She replied. “She definitely doesn’t like Elena, and she didn’t like me at first but I think I’ve made progress. At least I had until Elena literally stabbed her in the back.”

“Elena did what now?” Elijah asked as sat up a little straighter. He had learned that like her ancestors, Elena Gilbert had no issue with double crossing the people that were trying to help her because she thought she knew better. The thought that she had literally stabbed his little sister in the back didn’t sit right with him. 

“Rebekah had helped lure Klaus back so Mikael could kill him, but apparently Elena thought that Rebekah was going to chicken out, so she daggered her and lied to me about it.” Ellie explained before a dark look formed on her face.

Something big must have happened for her to look like that at the thought of her sister. During the time that he had known Ellie, she’d never looked so angry and betrayed by her sister. “What else did Elena do?”

“She had Damon compel Jeremy to leave town but didn’t even tell me or Jenna that she’d done it. I only found out because Bonnie said something about it. She just thinks that she’s right and it’s the safest thing for him. She won’t even tell us where he is.” Ellie said angrily. “Alaric knew about it, he let Elena do it. Jenna got so angry with them that she broke up with him and kicked him out. Jenna’s been staying in her dorm and I’ve been staying here.”

“Like I said before, you’re always more than welcome to stay here.” Elijah assured her. “Do you know what it is that Klaus has lied to me about?”

He watched as she tensed and as the color drained away from her face. He didn’t think it was fear, at least not fear of him. No, it seemed more like she just didn’t want to be the one to tell him. “That’s family business.” She said carefully as she tried to keep her tone controlled. “I think Klaus should be the one to explain that to you.”

“I understand. Some things are better left to be explained by family.” He replied.

“But who undaggered you?” Ellie asked curiously as she relaxed. Elijah shrugged and moved to reach into his inside breast pocket for his handkerchief, but his fingers brushed against the edges of a piece of paper instead. When he pulled it out, Ellie tilted her head in interest. “What’s that?” She asked as she moved forward on the couch, moving close to read the paper.

Her heart might have raced a bit, but that was just because she was confused and curious about the mystery paper, at least that’s what she told herself. “It seems Damon Salvatore was the one to undagger me. He wants to meet.” Elijah said.

“Are you going to go?”

“I suppose I could at least hear him out. Would you like to come with me?” He asked.

“Given that there’s always a chance that Damon could get his ass kicked, yes, I would love to go.” Ellie agreed.

He chuckled at her comment and she smiled brightly in return. “Well it seems like we have a long day ahead of us.” He said as he stood and offered her his hand.

“It seems like we do. I should get to bed.” Ellie told him. She turned to head to her room, before she turned back and hugged him tightly, just like she had when he’d been undaggered the first time. “I’m glad you’re back.” She confessed.

He hugged her back with ease. “It’s good to be back.” When they pulled away, he gave her a small smile. “Sleep well.”

“You too.”

* * *

In the morning, Ellie woke to find a note on the kitchen counter from Elijah explaining that Klaus had asked to see him to tell Elijah the things he had kept from him. The note had also told her to be dressed so that she would be ready to go when it was time to go and meet Damon. It felt bizarrely domestic. She was never quite sure how to act when she and Elijah were sharing the same space in the way that they currently were.

It was easier to dismiss the funny feeling in her stomach as being nervous as to basically, even temporarily, living with a man that wasn’t her family. Had it been someone like Tyler or Matt, it would have been fine. She could do that without batting an eye. She’d quite literally shared cribs with them when they were younger. She had the pictures to prove it. They were like brothers to her. Matt and Tyler were as fundamental to her childhood as Caroline and Bonnie were. The two of them were as much her brothers as Jeremy was.

Given, she never really fought with Matt like she could with Tyler of Jeremy, but that was just because Matt was so sweet. Plus, he had enough family drama between the way his mom was and the way Vicki had been before everything that happened with Damon. It was part of why she had never dated. It wasn’t like they were exactly in a large town, and she’d grown up closely with a lot of people. She was just never really romantically attracted to any of them. Most of the boys in school were stupid, as basically all teenage boys were, and she’d never had the patience for it.

But Elijah wasn’t like them. He was sophistication made flesh. Everything about him practically screamed royal. If she was remembering it correctly, Katherine had said that Klaus and Elijah were noblemen when she’d met them. It fit them, Elijah especially, he just had that air about him. Plus, what girl didn’t think a man in a suit was attractive? Her face flushed a bright red at the thought before she pushed it away. It didn’t mean anything to think that he was attractive. She’d have to be blind not to see it. It was simply an observation, a statement of fact. There was nothing more to it than that.

Once she forced the thought away, she moved to the kitchen to fix herself something to eat. With great effort, far more than she was willing to admit, she kept her mind free of Elijah as she made herself pancakes and some eggs. She’d gotten halfway through eating when the door slammed open. Ellie flinched as her forked clattered loudly against the plate. “Elijah?” She asked in confusion. “What happened?”

“ _ He killed my mother _ .” He practically hissed it and it sent chills down her spine. With a wave of her hand, the door closed in an instant. The last thing they needed was to be overheard. “Of all of the things I had expected… there are a lot of things that I might have expected of him, but family is sacred. There are lines that even we should not cross. He told us that Mikael killed her. For a thousand years I have thought that my father killed my mother.”

Elijah was actually shaking with rage. In all the time she had known him, she’d never seen him so upset. It was interesting to see how and Rebekah reacted differently to the news. Where Rebekah had been a sobbing mess, Elijah was like a bomb ready to go off. “Elijah…” She said softly as she moved over to him. “Elijah, please, hey.”

She didn’t think as she reached and took a hold of his hands. He grasped them tightly. Had he held them any tighter, it would have been painful. “My mother made plenty of mistakes, but…”

“It’s ok to be upset about it. Rebekah was heartbroken when she found out.” Ellie explained. “Don’t apologize for how you feel.” It was an interesting turn of events to be the one calming him down instead of the other way around. She thought back to when she had nearly set the curtains on fire at the Lockwood’s. He had been so good about it. It was only fair that she be there for him the way he’d been there for her.

He seemed to be struggling to figure out how to express his emotions, which was understandable given what he’d just been told. So Ellie did what she always did when someone she cared about was upset. She stepped forward, carefully pulling her hands from his to wrap them around him instead. There was only a brief pause before he hugged her back. They stood that way longer than they had before, but it wasn’t uncomfortable to do so. “Thank you.” He said finally as they pulled away.

His voice was much steadier than before, but she could feel his heartbeat while they’d hugged and it was still beating a violent pattern in his chest. “After all the times you’ve been there for me, this was the least I could do.” She replied as she gave him a warm smile. Ellie couldn’t help but watch with interest as he visibly forced himself to calm down. “Was that the worst of it?” She asked tentatively. She really didn’t want to upset him again.

“Yes, that was the worst of it.” He confirmed. Nothing could compare to the revelation that Klaus had killed their mother. Even when Henrik had died, he never blamed Klaus for it. It was a foolish decision to sneak out on the full moon, that was true. But Elijah had known without a shadow of a doubt that Klaus would have never intentionally let anything happen to Henrik. Even if he’d been unsure, he remembered how distraught Klaus had been. Henrik’s death had threatened to rip Klaus apart. Their brother’s death wouldn’t have hurt him so badly if he were a bad person. Klaus had been someone else entirely when they were human.

Elijah looked lost in thought, or maybe in his memories, so Ellie reached to touch his arm carefully. “Are you with me?” She questioned. His eyes seemed to clear as he came back to the present. When he nodded, she told him, “We should probably get going. We need to go meet Damon.”

The glance he spared at the clock brought him back fully as he nodded sharply. “Your food…”

She brushed it off with a wave of her hand. “I had enough to not be hungry. It’s no big deal.” She walked over to the counter, taking her plate and dumping the leftover food in the trash before putting her plate in the sink. “Let’s go. I don’t want to hear him make snarky comments about us being late.”

Elijah gave her a half smile at her comment before he led her down to his car. The drive was silent other than the soft music coming from the radio, but Ellie did nothing to disrupt it. She knew Elijah could probably benefit from additional time to calm down. It was only when they were halfway there that Ellie finally figured out what was different about Elijah, barely contained rage aside. “What?” He asked. He’d clearly noticed her glancing his way every minute or so.

“Did you get a haircut?”

The question was so unexpected that he couldn’t help but laugh. The young witch next to him had seen him in the midst of rage not even fifteen minutes prior, and now she was asking him about his hair. “I did, actually.” He replied, a small smile of disbelief on his face. She really was something else entirely wasn’t she?

She blushed shyly as he laughed. He didn’t say anything, but if he were honest with himself, he quite thought the color suited her. “Sorry. You just… something was different about you and it took me a minute to place it.” She confessed.

“Of course.” He agreed. They had to walk to reach their destination, though luckily it wasn’t far.

Ellie felt Damon’s presence before she heard or saw him, but when she did spot the dark haired Salvatore, he had his phone to his ear chatting away. “Ah, makes me nostalgic for the time when Stefan was a bunny-snacking pacifist.” He was saying as he came into earshot. She assumed he was talking to Elena. “Anyway, got to go. More later. Tea with an old friend. Elijah, Sabrina. My favorite Original, back from the dead.” He said in greeting. “You clean up nice.” He told Elijah.

“You left something in my jacket pocket.” Elijah said as he produced the note that Damon had left him. It was quite strange for Ellie to watch how quickly Elijah went from furious to as cool and calm as ever was. Had she not seen it happen, she would have never thought he’d been so upset just a few minutes before.

“Oh, yeah. ‘Dear Elijah, let’s get together, plot the destruction of your brother. XO, XO’.” Damon said sarcastically.

“Damon.” Elijah said in warning. 

“Was I right to undagger you? Or are we gonna have a problem?” Damon asked.

“I’m here. Let’s talk.” Elijah replied.

Damon gave her a once over. “I didn’t say to bring Sabrina with you. She has been spending an awful lot of time with Klaus since you’ve been gone.”

Ellie scowled at him and at once he gripped his head as the pain practically blinded him. It only lasted a split second, a warning more than anything else. He’d done more than enough to her friends and family in the past for her to not feel bad about it. “Unlike some people, Damon, I’m actually trustworthy.” She scoffed.

He looked like he was going to argue with her, but Elijah didn’t let him get the chance. “She’s right.” He confirmed. “I trust her. I wouldn’t have brought her with me if I didn’t.” Him trusting her meant a great deal to her. After a thousand years of getting stabbed in the back by people he was supposed to be able to trust, Ellie knew it wasn’t something he gave lightly. Instead of the probably stupid grin that wanted to make an appearance at his statement, Ellie smirked at Damon in satisfaction.

“Fine, whatever.” Damon huffed. “Well, let’s start with an easy question… Any idea what kind of Klaus killing weapon could be magically sealed in a mystery coffin?”

* * *

Ellie being in attendance of the dinner between the Salvatores and Originals had been something both Damon and Elijah agreed on. At the very least, she could keep Stefan and Klaus from killing each other before dessert. She arrived after Elijah did. Jenna had needed her to run an errand, so she agreed to just meet Elijah at Klaus’ mansion. “Thank you for coming.” Elijah said as he opened the door for her.

“No problem.” She assured him as she stepped fully inside. A pretty, young blonde girl appeared out of nowhere and carefully took Ellie’s coat.

She hadn’t been there for a whole minute before the doorbell rang again. Elijah opened it to reveal Stefan and Damon. “Niklaus, our guests have arrived.”

“Damon, Stefan. Elijah tells me you seek an audience. Very bold.” Klaus said as they all walked inside. “Ellie, you look lovely. Let’s discuss the terms of our agreement like civilized men, shall we?”

“It’s better to indulge him.” Elijah told them as he placed a hand on Ellie’s back, leading her to the table. 

“I didn’t come here to eat, Klaus. In fact, I didn’t want to come here at all. But I was told I had to, cause you would hear us out.” Stefan confessed.

Klaus chuckled to himself. “Well, we can sit and eat or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides. The choice is yours, though I fear you may ruin Ellie’s appetite should you choose the latter.” He said as he sat down.

Elijah pulled out Ellie’s seat for her before taking a seat to her left. Thankfully, Stefan gave in and took the seat to Ellie’s right. They ate in a tense silence, only breaking when Damon said, “Thank you, love.” 

Despite sitting down, Stefan hadn’t touched his food or drink. “You lost your appetite.” Klaus commented. 

“Eat. I thought we agreed that we would leave the grumpy Stefan at home.” Damon commanded.

Stefan gave a fake smile as he picked up his cutlery. “That’s the spirit.” Klaus replied. “Isn’t this nice? The five of us dining together. Such a treat. Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger out of my brother?”

“Well, I know how he felt about you, so I figured the more the merrier.” Damon sassed.

“Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the centuries, but we always make it through.” 

“Kind of like, uh, you and Rebekah, right?” Stefan taunted. “Where is she by the way? Last I checked, she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her.”

“If you’re referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I’ve already come clean to Elijah.” Klaus said as he and Elijah shared a look. Though Elijah looked calm for the most part, she’d spotted the way he tensed at the mention of their mother, but he corrected himself in an instant.

Damon was clearly not happy with Stefan’s behavior. “Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad? Might want to dial down the judgement till dessert.”

“We’re here to make a deal, Damon. Doesn’t mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses.”

“I’m just saying we have a long evening ahead of us, pace yourself.” Damon warned.

They fell back into silence for a short while before Elijah asked, “Stefan, where is the lovely Elena tonight?”

Ellie winced slightly at the question. She should have told him about all of that. “I don’t know. Ask Damon.” Stefan replied tightly.

Klaus started laughing at that. “I’m sorry. You’ve missed so much. Ah, trouble in paradise.”

“One more word about Elena, and uh, this dinner is over.” Stefan told them.

“You know what, probably best just to keep Elena in the do not discuss pile.” Damon suggested.

“You’re probably right.” Klaus said.

Ellie nodded in agreement. “Yeah.” 

Klaus didn’t seem capable of letting the subject drop. “It’s just… the allure of the Petrova doppelgänger is still so strong. What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?”

It was easy to immediately see that Elijah didn’t want to talk about that. “Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?” He asked as he placed down his napkin.

“Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guest might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line.” Klaus replied.

“Well, we’re not going anywhere, Elijah, please, do tell.” Damon encouraged.

“When our family first settled here there was a girl named Tatia. She was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor even though she’d had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus.” Elijah explained.

“Oh I’d say there was one who loved her at least as much.” Klaus corrected.

“Wait a minute, so you both loved the same girl?” Stefan asked in disbelief.

“Our mother was a very powerful witch. She sought to end our feud over Tatia, and so she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia’s blood that we consumed in the wine on the night where our mother performed the spell which turned us into vampires. Tatia wouldn’t make a decision between the two of us, so for a time, Niklaus and I… grew estranged.” Elijah told them. “Harsh words were traded. We even came to blows. Didn’t we, brother?”

Ellie frowned. “Kinda sounds like she was playing you both.” She commented before she took a sip of her drink. “Neither of you deserved to have your emotions toyed with by a girl who refused to choose. You deserved better.” All four of them were staring at her and if she was honest, she wasn’t sure which set of brothers she was talking to. Her statement held true either way.

“Perhaps.” Klaus agreed. “But in the end, we recognized the sacred bond of family.”

“Family above… all.” Elijah added.

“Family above all.” Klaus agreed as they clinked their glasses together.

Their brotherly sentiment obviously made Stefan and Damon a bit uncomfortable, and for the rest of the meal they ate in silence. As the girls were clearing away their plates, Elijah suggested, “So why don’t we move this evening along and discuss the terms of this proposal?” 

“Well, it’s very simple. Klaus gets his coffin back. In exchange, he and the Original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever. Me, Stefan, and Elena live happily ever after, no grudges.” Damon offered.

“Deal sounds fair, brother.” Elijah agreed.

“I don’t think you understand. Elena’s doppelgänger blood ensures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those that oppose me. Of course, Ellie’s might work just as well, a theory I’ve yet to test, but I still refuse to give up Elena. I will  _ never _ leave her behind.” Klaus said before standing. “Let’s say I do leave her here, under your protection. What then? How long before one of you turns her into a vampire? Or worse, how long before she dies caught between your feuding? You see, each one of you truly believes that you’re the one that can protect her. And that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen… the worst thing for Elena Gilbert is the two of you.”

Personally, Ellie wasn’t inclined to disagree. Damon had nearly turned Elena against her will just because he refused to let her die. Elena could really get hurt if she got caught between the two of them fighting. Damon obviously didn’t like to be told that because he announced, “I’m going to get some air.”

“Let me deal with this.” Elijah offered as he rose.

* * *

She’d gone with Elijah and Damon and when they returned, the blonde that had taken her coat was lying dead on the floor. “What do you say, Klaus? It’s time for you to put something on the table.” Damon said as they walked in. “We’ve made our offer. Now you counter.”

“Ok.” Klaus said as he took a seat. “I offer Elena’s future happiness. You see, what she needs right now is to be rid of you lot, and to fall in love with a human. Maybe that nice football player. You know, the blonde one.”

“Matt?” Ellie asked.

“Really?” Damon scoffed.

“Yeah, why not? They’ll marry, live a long and fruitful life, and pop out a perfect family.”

“And continue the Petrova bloodline.” Stefan deduced. “Every few hundred years you’ll have a new doppelgänger to drain and never run out of hybrids, right Klaus?”

“Consider it a small return on my investment in her well-being.” Klaus replied. “See, after you hand me back the coffin, I’ll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life. You know it’s what’s best for her. So, what do you say, Stefan? Do we have a deal?”

When Stefan started to walk over to Klaus, Damon worriedly asked, “What are you doing?”

The two shook hands before Stefan said, “Nice try, Klaus, but no deal.”

Klaus let out a shout of rage before he snapped Stefan’s arm and leg, making the younger vampire drop to his knees and forcing Stefan’s hand into the fire. “Stefan!” She shouted in shock. 

Damon tried to rush forward as Stefan let out a cry of pain, but Elijah pinned him to the wall. “What are you doing?”

“Klaus stop it!” Ellie shouted. She saw some of the tension drain from Stefan’s shoulders as she used her magic to make it hurt less.

“Now bring me my coffin before I burn him alive.” Klaus warned.

“I’ll get it.”

“Go with him, brother. You keep him honest. In fact, Ellie you go as well, keep them both in line.” He instructed. “And when you return, brother, I will make good on my promise to you and I will hand over our family.”

Ellie allowed Elijah to pull her with him as they headed after Damon. “Come.” Elijah instructed them both as he led them to another part of the house. Ellie recognized it instantly from the coffins placed carefully inside.

She muttered a spell under her breath as the candles shot to life. “He can’t hear us.” She assured them as she looked at the coffins. “Elijah, what’s the plan?”

“My brother has lied to me one too many times, Eleanor.” He said as he walked over to one of the coffins, pushing it open. “My family has been controlled by him for long enough. It’s time to undagger them.”

Ellie opened the next coffin and saw Rebekah’s grey body before her. “Can I?”

“Of course.” He assured her as he pulled the dagger from one of his brother’s chest before she pulled the dagger out of Rebekah. Once he removed the last one, he took a hold of the blood bags Damon had somehow acquired.

With the help of the blood bags, it didn’t take long for the three siblings to wake up. Rebekah was first, jolting away and draining her bag. “That stupid doppel-bitch!” She cursed as she got out of her coffin.

Despite knowing that Rebekah might have been angry with her, Ellie couldn’t help but hug the blonde. “I’m so sorry, Rebekah!” She apologized as she pulled back to look the other girl in the eye. “I swear to you I didn’t know she was going to dagger you. I never would have let her.”

Rebekah searched for a lie from the doppelgänger before her, but found none. “Why should I believe you?”

Ellie offered up the dagger. “Would it make you feel a bit better to stab Klaus again? To be fair, he kept you daggered after getting you back.”

It seemed that it did the trick, because the glint in Rebekah’s eye could only be described as malicious. “It  _ would _ make me feel better to stab him again.”

“Who are we stabbing?” A groggy voice asked. A young man had stepped out of one of the other coffins. Out of everyone, he was very clearly Elijah’s brother. They looked the most alike out of all the siblings.

“Nik for being a dick.” Rebekah said simply.

“Ah, say less.” The man grinned before he spotted Ellie. “Another one?”

“Play nice, Kol. This one isn’t as wretched as the others.” Rebekah defended her. Rebekah’s eyes lit up with excitement as the last man made his way out of the coffin. “Finn!” She exclaimed.

“Rebekah.” He said calmly before a rage seemed to set in. “Where is he?”

“Niklaus is in the other room. I thought we’d give you all a moment to wake up properly before we went to see him.” Elijah said. “Now, give us just a moment. I think it’s time we had a little family reunion.”

It was almost freakish to see how quickly all the siblings seemed to be on the same page. “After you, brother.” Kol agreed. Rebekah held on tightly to the dagger that had been used on her as Elijah compelled one of the waitresses to come in and cover the two other daggers with a cloth on a tray. 

They all headed back to the other room once Ellie dropped her spell. She could hear Stefan and Klaus arguing before they got back. Klaus stopped when he saw them. “Elijah, why haven’t you left?”

“Well, where are your manners, brother?” Elijah asked. “You forgot dessert.”

She could practically see the satisfaction dripping off of him as he yanked the cloth away. “What have you done?” Klaus asked fearfully.

“What have  _ you _ done?” Elijah shot back. “See I’ve learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We’re doing this on my terms now.”

Ellie turned just in time to see the short haired brother stroll in with purpose. “Kol.” Klaus said fearfully.

“Long time, brother.”

Before Klaus could move, Finn had appeared, picking a dagger up from the tray. “Finn, don’t.” Klaus pleaded but Finn shoved the dagger through his hand. Klaus let out a pained scream as Ellie flinched, moving closer to Elijah. Klaus tried to run, but ran straight into Rebekah. “Rebekah!”

She was grinning as she plunged the dagger deep in his stomach. “This is for our mother.” She told him. She pushed him back and Kol caught him by the arms, holding him in place.

“You’re free to go. This is family business.” Elijah told them.

One of the waitresses had Ellie’s jacket waiting for her. She took it and moved swiftly out the door. She pulled her phone out of the pocket she’d left it in, and felt a rush of panic at all the missed calls and texts. They were from several different people. Elena, Matt, Sheriff Forbes, Caroline, Jenna. With Jenna being the newest call, she rang her back.  _ “Ellie, where are you? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for hours!” _

“I was dealing with Klaus and Stefan crap. What’s going on, why do I have so many missed calls?” Ellie asked worriedly.

_ “Someone killed Caroline’s dad. He had vampire blood in his system. He’s in transition.” _ Jenna explained.

“What?”

_ “He’s not going to complete the transition. He wants to die.” _

“What?!” Ellie choked as she flung herself into her car. “Where are they?”

_ “They’re at their house. I don’t know how much longer he has.” _ Jenna confessed sadly.  _ “I think Caroline could really use you right now.” _

“I’m on my way. Shit, shit, shit. I’ll be there as fast as I can. Thank you for telling me.” Ellie said as she hung up the phone abruptly. She needed both hands for how fast she was about to drive. She sped through the town without care. All she could think about was getting to Caroline. How could she have been so stupid to leave her phone in her jacket? She should have made sure she had it so she could know if something was happening.

She made it to the Forbes house in record time. She was lucky the car was actually off and in park before she threw herself out of it. Sheriff Forbes answered the door quickly, and Ellie’s eyes watered at the sight Sheriff Forbes’ red rimmed ones. “I’m glad you’re here.” Sheriff Forbes told her.

The older woman led Ellie back to the bedroom and Caroline looked up at them with a numb expression. When she saw Ellie, the dam broke and she practically collapsed into the witch’s arms. “He’s gone.” She sobbed brokenly as they slid down to the floor. Sheriff Forbes joined them a second later, wrapping her arms around both girls as they cried.

Ellie knew exactly how Caroline felt. The ache of losing a parent was a special kind of pain, especially when they felt like they hadn’t gotten enough time with them. “It’s going to be ok, Caroline. Just breathe, I’m right here.” Ellie soothed as she stroked the blonde’s hair. They held each other like their lives depended on it.

“Please don’t leave me.” Caroline cried. “Please don’t leave me.”

“I won’t.” Ellie replied. “I promise I’ll never leave you.” Ellie pressed a kiss to the blonde’s hairline. “It’s ok, we’re right here. You’re not alone.” She knew Caroline was struggling, but the best thing she could do for Caroline is to hold the other girl tight until it hurt a little less. It was what friends were for. She just hoped Caroline knew that she meant what she said. She would never leave her, ever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys! We're so close to the masquerade episode!! And all the Mikaelsons have appeared!!! As always, I hope you guys enjoyed and please leave a comment letting me know your thoughts!
> 
> Posted: 2/6/21


	55. Dangerous Liaisons

**Chapter 55: Dangerous Liaisons**

_ October 22, 2010 _

Caroline and Ellie had spent the night curled up on the couch in the Forbes living room. For hours after Caroline’s tears had dried they watched movies that they’d seen a thousand times, but never failed to make them laugh. It was the same thing they’d done when Ellie’s parents had died and Ellie had practically lived at the Forbes house. Elena had been there sometimes too, but even after she had gone either home or to Bonnie’s, Ellie remained. Caroline had been an absolute lifeline when Ellie was struggling with the aftermath of losing both her parents. Ellie intended to do the exact same for Caroline when she needed her now. 

Sheriff Forbes had watched the girls for a while, incredibly grateful to the young brunette on the couch with her daughter. Caroline had sometimes struggled with friends growing up, specifically with Bonnie and Elena. The two other girls had seemed more satisfied with each other than including her. She could remember going to the elementary school for parent’s day and watched as Caroline tried to join Bonnie and Elena, but the two simply giggled and left her. Sheriff Forbes had been more than a little upset as she watched her daughter try not to cry. But it didn’t last long because Ellie appeared and asked Caroline to go with her. Caroline had been outright ecstatic.

Ever since then Ellie and Caroline had been practically joined at the hip. Sheriff Forbes wasn’t oblivious to miss the way it was always Ellie that Caroline would want to come over. She also didn’t miss the way it was always Ellie to invite Caroline over to the Gilbert residence for a sleepover. That wasn’t to say that Bonnie and Elena completely excluded Caroline growing up, or that it was even intentional, but they were still just friends as opposed to best friends, even if Caroline called them otherwise.

Something had changed within the last year or so. Caroline seemed much closer with Bonnie and Elena now. She suspected it had something to do with their involvement in the supernatural. She’d seen the panic in Ellie’s eyes when she opened the door. She knew the younger girl was terrified that she’d left Caroline alone when she needed her most. Miranda would have been so incredibly proud to see how loyal and loving her daughter was.

When the morning came, the girls had gotten up to find a text from Elena asking Caroline to meet at The Grill. They’d just gotten dressed and were about to leave when Caroline’s phone beeped. “Who was it?” Ellie asked as Caroline put the phone down.

“It was a message from Tyler.” Caroline told her. “He heard about my dad. He said he freaked out and ran when he hurt him.” She sniffed slightly. “He said he’s going to do what my dad said and then he’s going to come home to me.”

“He’s gonna be ok.” Ellie told her confidently. A knock on the door surprised them both. They frowned as they headed over and opened the front door. No one was there, but there were two boxes with pretty bows placed carefully just outside the door. “What is that?” One box had a card with Caroline’s name on it while the other had Ellie’s. “Who even knew I was here?” She asked in confusion as they took the boxes to Caroline’s room.

Caroline opened her card first and read aloud, “‘Please join the Mikaelson Family this evening at seven o’clock for dancing, cocktails, and celebrations’. What the...” She flipped the card over and Ellie spotted the handwritten note on the back.

_ Save me a dance, Fondly, Klaus _ .

Ellie’s eyes widened. “‘Fondly’? Since when is he fond of you?” She asked in interest.

“Seriously?” Caroline asked in disbelief. “How the hell should I know?”

“Open it!” Ellie encouraged.

Caroline looked skeptical, but gave in and pulled the lid off the box. Both their jaws dropped at the sight of the stunning blue dress with gems decorating it. “Ohh.” Caroline breathed in surprise. It was beautiful. She abruptly slammed the lid back down on the box. “Well what about your box? Did he give you a dress too?”

The young witch shrugged, but set her card aside and opened the box. Inside was an absolutely breathtaking red dress. It was the perfect shade, not too bright or dark, and definitely not too orangey. “Oh my god.” She said softly as she reached out to feel the material. It was impossibly soft and undoubtedly more expensive than anything Ellie had ever owned. “It’s beautiful.” Ellie admitted. “Klaus has exceptional taste.”

“I don’t think it’s from Klaus.” Caroline said and even before Ellie turned to look at her, she could hear the smugness in Caroline’s voice. The smirk on her face only matched it. Caroline had opened the invitation and was reading the back. Ellie snatched the card and instead of Klaus’ scratchy handwriting was one more much elegant.

_ Please do me the honor of saving me a dance, Sincerely, Elijah _

“Oh.” Ellie said softly as she looked at the card.

Caroline looked like the cat that caught the canary. “Why does it sound so much better when Elijah says it?” Caroline asked as she too felt the material of the dress. “And what’s going on between you and Elijah?”

“What are you talking about? Nothing is going on between me and Elijah.”

“A dress this beautiful and this expensive says otherwise.” Caroline told her with confidence.

“So something is going on with you and Klaus?” Ellie shot back.

The blonde gave her an unimpressed look. “Deflection isn’t cute on you.” Caroline sassed. “You’re lucky we have to go meet Elena, but we  _ will _ be discussing this later.”

Ellie rolled her eyes, but she knew that Caroline had no intention of letting this go. But to her own credit, she had no idea why Elijah had sent her that dress or why she was invited to some ball. Why was there even a ball going on? When they met Elena, they sat down and ordered. Ellie had zoned out slightly and when she snapped back into the conversation Elena was saying, “But Bonnie and her mom managed to open the fourth coffin. Apparently their mother was the one inside it.”

“Wait, Bonnie found her mom?” Ellie asked in shock. “Wait, the person inside the coffin was  _ Elijah’s mom? _ ”

Elena nodded. “Bonnie was having dreams that were trying to get her to find her mom, like the ones she had of Emily a while back. And then they spent all yesterday trying to get it open. Bonnie left and came back and the coffin was open and empty. But Esther sent me an invitation to the ball and asked me to meet with her, but at the same time she  _ says _ she wants her family to be together again. Damon and Stefan both practically threw a fit about it until I said I wouldn’t go.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense.” Ellie commented. “That’s weird, like really weird.”

“It’s  _ all  _ so weird. The Originals are throwing a ball, like an actual ball.” Elena replied.

“It’s some twisted Cinderella fetish is what it is.” Caroline snapped.

Ellie grinned. “And I wonder who the pretty blonde in the pretty blue dress could be.” She added and Caroline glared darkly at her.

“Shut up.” Caroline told her with a glare. Elena looked confused but didn’t say anything. “And anyways, why does the evil witch want an audience with you?”

“I have no idea.” Elena confessed. “There’s only one way to find out.”

Caroline made a face at her. “I thought you told Damon and Stefan that you weren’t going?”

“I did. Which is all the more reason why I need a drama-free bodyguard.” Elena said, clearly implying that she wanted Caroline to go with her.

“Well, I think a Salvatore would look a lot better in a tux, and by that I mean Stefan.” Caroline said honestly.

Elena sighed heavily at that. “I can’t deal with either of the Salvatores right now. Whatever Stefan’s feeling, he’s channeling it all against Klaus. And Damon… it’s just not a good idea.”

“Why? Cause you two made out?” Caroline asked bluntly. Elena looked up in surprise as Ellie stiffened. “Bonnie spilled the beans.”

“Wait, when?” Ellie asked.

“While you were in the shower.”

They both turned to look at Elena. “I was going to tell you guys.” She tried to defend herself. “It’s just after everything that happened with your dad…”

Caroline cut her off. “Elena, when you and Matt kissed for the first time freshman year, you called me the second it happened. And I don’t hear about this till now? And from somebody else?”

“I’m sorry.” Elena said though it didn’t sound sincere. “It’s just… I don’t even know how I feel about it yet. All I do know is that it just used to be so much easier.”

Ellie was surprised by the rage she felt. “Was this before or after you and Stefan broke up?” She snapped.

Elena looked at her in shock. “What?”

“Was it  _ before _ or  _ after  _ you and Stefan broke up?” She repeated.

“Why are you so angry?” Elena asked in confusion. Even Caroline looked confused by Ellie’s rage.

The witch scoffed in disbelief. “Maybe because after  _ everything  _ Stefan did to protect you somehow you still thought it was ok to go make out with his  _ brother _ while you two were still together.”

“That’s not fair!” Elena frowned.

“You didn’t watch Stefan go through hell to keep his humanity all summer. You didn’t watch him fight to keep himself from being the Ripper. I did! He deserved better than his girlfriend to cheat on him and with his brother no less.” Ellie said angrily. Stefan had been the one that kept her sane when she was struggling. He deserved so much better.

“And then Stefan went and nearly drove me off the bridge our parents died on Ellie! Excuse me if I wasn’t sure if I still wanted to be in a relationship with him.”

“Oh please Elena. We both know that if you made out with Damon, you were more than likely flirting with him  _ long _ before the bridge incident happened. If you made out with him you had already developed feelings for him before that. Tell me Elena, did those feelings develop while Stefan and I were with Klaus all summer because we were trying to keep everyone alive?” Ellie hissed, trying to keep her voice quiet as to not attract the attention of the other patrons of The Grill. When Elena went quiet, Ellie knew she was right. “I can’t believe you.” She scoffed.

Caroline, for once in the position where she needed to be the peacemaker, held up her hands placatingly. “Alright, let’s take a breath. We have bigger issues to worry about than that right now. Right, Elena?” She tried.

“Careful coming to her defense, Caroline. It’s all well and good till she stabs you in the back.” Rebekah warned the younger blonde as she stepped up to their table.

“What are you doing here?” Elena asked. “I know your mom’s rules. No hurting the locals.”

Ellie was quickly realizing she really didn’t like the way Elena talked to Rebekah. It was smug, like Elena was somehow better than Rebekah. “Get over yourself, Elena. It’s not all about you.” Rebekah replied before walking away without another word.

They turned a second later to see Rebekah and Matt talking. She passed a familiar looking invitation to him and Ellie wanted to smile when she saw Matt smile at Rebekah. “Oh my god. She’s inviting him to the ball. Why is she inviting him?” Caroline demanded.

“Probably to get this reaction from us.” Elena replied.

Rolling her eyes, Ellie offered. “Or maybe because Matt was supposed to be her homecoming date before you literally stabbed her in the back?”

Elena made a face, but Caroline ignored them both, before she huffed and asked, “What time is this stupid dance?”

“Seven, but I’ll be back.” Ellie supplied before standing from the table. She followed Rebekah outside before calling the other girl’s name. “Rebekah! Wait!”

Rebekah turned on her heel and waited for Ellie to catch up. “What is it?”

“I just wanted to check on you.” Ellie confessed.

Frowning, Rebekah asked, “Why would you do that?”

“Because you just woke up from my sister daggering you.” Ellie replied before adding, “Plus, you were really upset when you found out what happened to your mom, and now she’s back and I couldn’t imagine what I would do if I got my mom back all of a sudden. I just wanted to check and see how you were holding up.”

Rebekah’s stiff posture softened. Ellie’s heartbeat was steady. She was really just worried about her. “Mother says she wants to be a family again. It’s so strange. I’ve gone a thousand years without her, but I’ve missed her so much.” Rebekah confessed. “She’s throwing a ball tonight to celebrate our family’s reunion.”

“How on earth has she managed to plan a whole ball in less than a day?” Ellie asked in disbelief.

“Never doubt her ability to throw something magnificent together.” Rebekah laughed. Ellie observed her for a long moment. Somehow, Rebekah seemed impossibly lighter as if the weight of the world was off her shoulders. “What is it?”

“Are we ok?” Ellie inquired. “After what Elena did… I am your friend Rebekah. I just hope you’re still mine.”

Once again, Rebekah was unable to detect a lie. “Yes, of course we’re still friends. If we blamed each other for the faults of our siblings, you would hate me for everything Nik has done.” Rebekah smiled reassuringly at her. “Will I see you at the ball tonight?”

“I’m planning on going. I’m probably going to get ready at Caroline’s, but yeah. I’ll be there.” Ellie told her.

“See you then!” Rebekah said brightly before walking off.

* * *

She had ended up back at Caroline’s to get ready for the ball. It had been with great amusement that she watched as Caroline tried to find a dress even in the ballpark of something that could compare to the stunning blue dress Klaus had gifted her. Watching Caroline give in had been equally entertaining.

Caroline had gotten her revenge by making suggestive comments about why on earth Elijah would give Ellie such a clearly expensive dress. Ellie refused to let the comments faze her. She didn’t have the time to let her thoughts linger on the absolutely ridiculous statements Caroline was making.

By the time they arrived at the Mikaelson mansion, the ball was in full swing. The place was packed and music and chatter filled the room. Ellie spotted Klaus before he spotted them. The moment he saw them, he did a double take on Caroline and Ellie watched as his expression changed. He schooled it carefully when Caroline caught his gaze and the two girls made their way over to him. “Good evening.” He greeted them, though he only had eyes for Caroline.

Instead of really talking to him, Caroline ended up saying, “I need a drink.” She walked away before Klaus could stop her.

He watched her go, and Ellie filed it away for later. “Hey, Klaus.” Ellie said as she caught his attention. “Whatever your plans might be with her tonight, go easy on her. Her dad died last night.”

Immediately something in his eyes softened and he nodded in understanding. “Thank you for letting me know. I assume you’ve been with her then?”

“Of course. She’s my best friend.” Ellie replied.

Klaus nodded before he tilted his head to the side, obviously hearing something she couldn’t. “I’ve been summoned, but I must say you look absolutely ravishing in that dress.” He said it with an overdramatic wink that caused her to laugh as he walked away.

She didn’t have to wait long to find out where Klaus had disappeared too. “Uh, if everyone could gather please.” Elijah said as the music stopped. Ellie followed the sound of his voice and found the Mikaelson family standing on the stairs so that everyone could see them. “Welcome. Thank you for joining us.” A woman descended the stairs to join them. She couldn’t be anyone other than Esther. “You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it’s tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Tonight’s pick is a century old waltz. So if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom.”

Elijah was the first to descend the stairs and Ellie lost track of him only for a moment, and then he stood before her. He always wore suits, but something about the tuxedo he was wearing just made him look even better than normal. “Elijah.” She greeted. “You look nice.”

He gave her a once over before he replied, “Thank you, but I must admit that I don’t hold a candle to you. You look…” He paused, like he couldn’t find a good enough description. “You look absolutely stunning.” He told her and she felt heat rise to her cheeks. “Would you do me the honor of dancing with me?”

She couldn’t help but smile as he offered her his arm. “I would love to.” She agreed. He led her to the ballroom and they fell in line with the other couples. Ellie was only vaguely aware that Caroline was dancing with Klaus. All of her focus was drawn to the fact that she was dancing with Elijah. They spun in time with the others and then turned to face one another. 

Elijah had a look on his face that she couldn’t place as he led her across the dance floor with ease. “I’m glad you came.” He confessed.

“How could I resist the chance to wear such a stunning dress?” Ellie replied. “This is the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen.”

“You deserve nothing less than the best.” He told her. “I’m glad you liked it.” Her heart was pounding in her chest, though she wasn’t certain why. Maybe it was because of the way his hand was warm against the bare skin of her back. Or maybe it was just because she was scared of messing up their dance. Either way she just hoped that he couldn’t hear it.

It was almost time for the partner switch, and secretly Ellie didn’t want to. She was comfortable in his hold, and he didn’t seem to mind it either. It was inevitable though, and when he took hold of her hand to spin her, her mind might have been playing tricks on her, but she thought that his hand lingered in hers just a touch moment longer than it normally would have. Her eyes widened at the sight of who had replaced Elijah as her partner. Kol took a hold of her as they started to move, a sly grin on his face. “Hello, darling. You look smashing.”

She rolled her eyes at his flirtatious attitude, but couldn’t help a small smile. He might have looked the most like Elijah, but his personality was far more similar to Klaus. “Thank you. Kol, right?”

“The one and only.” He confirmed. “You looked rather cozy with my dear older brother.” The statement had the heat rushing back to her cheeks, and from his wicked grin, she knew he caught it. “The never ending Petrova allure I suppose. It never seems to fail. Though I must say, I am surprised that Bekah seems to like you. She’s always hated the doppelgängers.”

Kol seemed to be the talkative type, but Ellie felt a rush of happiness at the thought that Rebekah liked her when she hadn’t liked the others. “Rebekah’s nice. She’s a good friend.” Ellie replied. Kol gave her a look as he moved them with ease through the crowd.

“Have you met Bekah? She’s got an awful temper.” He asked and Ellie snorted softly. 

“Don’t let her hear you say that. She’ll have your head.” Ellie joked. He grinned brilliantly in response, clearly pleased with her response. The dance ended not long after the duo had fallen into an easy silence. “Where is Rebekah? I haven’t gotten the chance to talk to her yet.”

He offered her his arm. “Allow me, darling. I’ll lead the way.”

His flirtatious nature didn’t seem to be dangerous, so she looped her arm through his and allowed him to pull her through the crowd. She noticed Rebekah in her brilliant green dress and rushed over. “Rebekah!” Ellie said excitedly as she pulled the other girl into a hug. “You look gorgeous!”

Rebekah was grinning as they pulled apart. “Ellie, you look beautiful. I’m glad you came.” Rebekah, like Kol, had noticed the way Elijah and Ellie danced together. It was her first time really watching the two of them interact and all it took was that one dance to see her brother was entirely smitten with the girl before her. Elijah looked at Ellie with a fondness that Rebekah had not seen from him in such a long time.

“I’m glad I did too.” Ellie agreed.

“I like this one Bekah. She has a sense of humor.” Kol announced as he picked up glasses from a tray one of the waiters was carrying. He passed the glasses to the girls before taking one for himself. “She doesn’t seem as dull as the others.”

“She’s the one with all the personality. Her sister is as dull as dishwater.” Rebekah sassed as she took a sip of her drink. Ellie gave her a look of disapproval. Rebekah ignored it; instead she said, “Oh, yes, you two haven’t been properly introduced. Kol, Ellie. Ellie, Kol. This is my annoying older brother.”

Kol scoffed. “Come now, we both know I’m the most dashing brother.”

“I told you before Kol. You can’t compel me to tell you you’re pretty. I see no need to lie to you.” Rebekah replied. Ellie snorted at the other girl’s sass. 

He laughed fakely before asking, “Well if I’m the annoying one, what are the others?”

“Nik is the angry one, Elijah the noble, and Finn is the dull one.” Rebekah said without hesitation. “Speaking of the noble one, hello Elijah.”

Elijah approached them and gave his siblings a skeptical look. “I hope you two are behaving yourselves?” It sounded more like a warning rather than a question.

“Of course. Quite honestly I’m offended you think so little of us, brother.” Kol responded as he held a hand up to emphasize his point.

Neither of his siblings seemed impressed. “What can we do for you?” Rebekah questioned.

Had it been anyone else, Ellie would have said he seemed a bit uncertain, but Elijah’s posture turned more confident as he held out a hand for Ellie. “I was wondering if you could spare me another dance?” He asked.

Rebekah and Kol were watching the interaction with extreme interest. “I’d love to.” She agreed as she took his hand.

As he led her back out onto the dancefloor, the siblings shared a look. “Are they together?” Kol asked. “No one mentioned it.”

“No one has said anything to me about it. So, no, I don’t think that they are.” She informed him.

“Odd that they aren’t, with the way he looks at her.”

She nodded. “Did you see the way she was looking at him? It was the stuff of those mushy romance novels.”

“You would know, I’m sure.”

“Oh shut up.”

Elijah and Ellie were entirely unaware of the conversation between the two siblings as they danced. “What’s wrong?” Ellie asked as she studied his expression. Something was bothering him.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Elijah denied.

She gave him a flat look. “Come on.”

He gave a suspicious look around before pulling her in close. Their faces were inches apart as he kept his voice low. “My mother has requested an audience with your sister, which I’m sure you already know but…”

“You’re suspicious of her?”

“Her ability to forgive Klaus after everything he’s done to destroy this family strikes me as a little strange to say the least.”

“Do you think she’s lying?”

He looked frustrated as he confessed, “It has me asking questions I never thought that I’d ask.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I’ve asked Elena to tell me what she says.” Elijah told her. When she frowned, he assured her, “I’ll know if she lies. But even her lying can tell me more than nothing else.”

Ellie nodded, realizing only then that they were so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek. “You’re good at this.” Ellie said, her voice a little breathier than she would have liked.

“I’ve had a thousand years to practice. You however are a phenomenal dancer. I’m quite impressed.” Elijah praised and she flushed a rather pretty shade of pink. When he’d seen her walk in with Caroline, he’d been amazed at how stunning she looked. Rebekah had been the one to suggest that Ellie would look good in red, and she’d been more than correct.

Even though he hadn’t made a comment about it, he’d overheard his siblings talking as he’d led Ellie back out to the dance floor. He’d made a promise to himself over five hundred years ago that he would not let himself fall for another doppelgänger. But Ellie was nothing like Tatia nor Katerina. Ellie was warm and kind and so incredibly loyal. 

Dancing with her now, they pressed closer than they needed to be for it. But he had no desire to push her away. The songs were slow and they stayed close as they danced. Her skin felt hot against his hand. He could feel her pulse racing, but she kept a neutral expression on her face. He wasn’t sure how long they had danced before she straightened. “There’s Elena.” She said softly.

He turned to see the other Gilbert girl had made her reappearance. They walked over to her and Elijah asked, “So how was my mother?”

“Intense.” Elena confessed.

“And for what reason did she need to speak with you in private?” Elijah asked as he took two drinks off the waiter’s tray, first passing one to Ellie before Elena and then got one for himself. “Elena.” He said when she didn’t respond. “Should I be concerned about my mother’s intentions?”

“She just wanted to apologize for trying to have me killed.” Elena told him.

“So, it’s true then? She’s forgiven Klaus?”

“It’s true.” Ellie’s stomach dropped at the tightness in Elena’s voice. She was lying.

The clinking of something against glass caught their attention and they turned to see Esther standing up on the stairs. “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Waiters are coming round with champagne. I invite you all to join me in raising a glass.” Ellie wasn’t sure why they had to switch out their drinks for the new ones the waiters were bringing, but she took the glass Elijah offered her anyways. “It provides me with no greater joy than to see my family back together as one. I’d like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening. Cheers.”

After everyone started to drink, Elijah turned to Ellie and held his glass up. “Cheers.” He said as he smiled at her.

She returned it, clinking her glass gently to his before drinking. “Cheers.” After they drank, Ellie noticed that something was off about Elena’s expression and her sister quickly excused herself.

There wasn’t an opportunity to tell Elijah, because Rebekah appeared, smiling brightly. “Having fun? I saw you spending quite some time dancing.” She told them. Elijah gave her a look of warning, though Ellie didn’t see it. That look, however, told Rebekah far more than he likely thought it did and she felt a rush of childish delight at the opportunity before her to mess with her brother. “You too looked to be having a grand time on the dance floor.”

“It’s not hard to have fun when you’re with someone who knows what they’re doing.” Ellie said easily.

Rebekah nodded, “Ah of course, surely that’s all.”

Elijah’s look darkened, and it only added to her delight. “Actually, you’ve given me an idea.” Ellie said. 

The two siblings looked at her in confusion as she passed her now empty glass to Elijah. “What are you doing?” Rebekah asked curiously.

Ellie took the blonde girl by the hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. “Why dancing with one of my favorite Mikaelsons of course.” Ellie said with a grin. “Come on, if we’re lucky, we’ll cause outrage with some of the old folks. Besides, we didn’t get to dance at homecoming so we have to make up for it.”

Rebekah smiled brightly as she allowed herself to be led around the dance floor. It wasn’t one of the songs with a specific dance to it, so the two girls made their own. Rebekah twirled Ellie around, causing her red dress to flare out beautifully before Ellie dropped Rebekah into a low dip. The freedom of their dancing had the two of them giggling happily. It made it easy for Rebekah to forget about her original plan with Kol. In fact, it made her even more glad that she hadn’t done it. 

Elijah watched them from the side as they twirled around one another with a fond smile on his face. Rebekah had gone so long with no one. Klaus had a nasty habit of killing those that Rebekah had fallen in love with, claiming they weren’t good enough for her. Sometimes Elijah agreed with him, though he wouldn’t have killed them. But oftentimes when it came to women, Rebekah didn’t often have many close friends.

Back when they’d been human, Rebekah had been more interested in being able to do what the boys could do as opposed to what the girls normally did. It left her with little in common with the girls of their village. That was often how it was even after they had been turned. Rebekah was strong and determined and she had never been satisfied with the meek, quiet woman image that men through the ages had often preferred. 

When they’d been human, she’d hated Tatia for causing a rift between Elijah and Klaus. She’d even told Elijah so. He knew that family meant everything to Rebekah. It was why she stayed with Klaus even after he hurt her. When they’d met Katerina, she’d immediately disliked her solely for her looking like Tatia. He would have never expected to see her and Ellie giggling and dancing together like no one was watching them.

He supposed Ellie was more different than he’d realized, especially since she’d clearly managed to worm her way into Rebekah’s good graces. The song had changed. It was one with a dance set to it, and the girls didn’t hesitate to fall into position with Rebekah taking the spot of the man. He watched as the two of them managed to keep a straight face for all of thirty seconds before they dissolved into giggles again.

They hadn’t been dancing for very long before Rebekah stilled. “What is it?” Ellie asked.

“My annoying brother and Damon Salvatore seem to be getting into it.” Rebekah said as she pulled Ellie off the dance floor. “Let’s go see how this goes.”

Elijah fell into step on the other side of Ellie as they headed outside. Stefan was slinging the doors open as they came headed towards him. “Damon!” He called. “Are you crazy?”

Kol was lying motionless on the ground. Damon must have snapped his neck. Ellie turned at the sound of heels clicking quickly as Elena ran outside. “Maybe a little.” Damon confessed. “Far be it from me to cause a problem.” Clearly, he was implying something because Elena reacted the moment he said it.

As Damon walked away, Rebekah tilted her head up. “What is it now?” 

Rebekah sighed heavily. “I think Kol hurt Matt. He’s up on the balcony above us.” She explained.

There was a touch to her back and she turned to see Elijah staring at her. “Go help him. I’ll deal with this down here.”

Ellie nodded and rushed back inside, though she tried to go slow enough that she didn’t attract attention to herself. “Ellie, where are you going?” Jenna’s voice caught her by surprise, and Ellie whipped around to look at her.

“Jenna! I didn’t know you were here.” Ellie confessed. “I haven’t seen you!”

Jenna has a smug look so similar to Caroline’s that Ellie could have screamed. “Now why would you have seen me when you’ve spent practically the whole time wrapped up with Elijah on the dance floor?”

“Jesus Christ not you too.” She huffed. “You didn’t even give me a chance to tell you how pretty you look before you started in with that.”

“As if I’d let you deflect.” Jenna replied. She did look really beautiful. She was also in a blue dress, though a much darker shade than Caroline’s. “Why do you look so panicked?”

“Kol, one of Klaus and Elijah’s other brothers, hurt Matt. He’s upstairs on the balcony and I need to get to him. I don’t know how badly he was hurt.” Ellie said in a rush as she pulled her aunt along. They made it to the balcony quickly and found Matt with his back pressed up against the railing as he held his hand carefully. “Matt! Are you ok?”

“My hand!” Matt nearly cried as he moved it slightly. “He crushed it.”

Ellie shushed him gently as she reached out for him. He flinched out of reflex, but it didn’t surprise her. “I can fix it, Matty. I can help.” If she had to guess, he more than likely didn’t have any insurance. The last thing he needed was a ridiculously expensive hospital bill when he was already drowning in bills to begin with. “Please, Matty. It’s just me. Let me help you.”

She wouldn’t force him to let her help. It didn’t seem fair to take away his choices. She’d never liked taking people’s choices away before, but after what Elena and Damon had done to Jeremy, she had absolutely no tolerance for it. “It hurts a lot.” Matt confessed. “You can fix it?” The whole thing reminded her of when his arm had gotten trapped under the trailer last year. She hadn’t been able to help him then, but she could now.

“I can try, if you’ll let me.” Ellie replied. When Matt finally nodded in agreement, Ellie started chanting softly as she carefully placed her hand on top of Matt’s. She could hear him reacting to the magic, but what was even more fascinating was the way she could feel her magic affecting him. She could feel it healing him and the knowledge that it was working made it even stronger. It wasn’t long before his breathing slowed back to a normal level and pain no longer colored his expression.

“Oh my god.” He said shakily. He very slowly moved his fingers around. When he found he could close it in a fist with ease, he stretched them out and then sagged with relief when he realized nothing was hurting anymore. “Holy crap, Ellie…”

His hand, which had already started to bruise by the time they got up there, looked brand new again. “How did you know how to do that?” Jenna asked in amazement as she tentatively touched Matt’s healed hand.

“Emily, you remember… Bonnie’s ancestor and Katherine’s handmaid, she was really good at healing spells. She taught them to me.” Ellie explained as she helped Matt stand up. 

He leaned over and hugged her tightly. “Thank you.”

“Any time.” Ellie assured him. “Let’s get you out of here before someone else does something stupid.”

She led the three of them back to the front entrance. “I think I’m just going to go to The Grill for a bit.” Matt confessed. “I don’t really want to go home right now.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Ellie asked.

He shook his head gently. “No, I just need a minute to myself. No offense.”

“None taken.” Ellie assured him. She knew what it was like to be entirely overwhelmed by what was happening around her. “Just text me when you get home so that I know you’re safe.”

“I will.” Matt promised before walking out.

“I think that’s probably enough for us tonight. Did you drive?” Jenna asked.

“No, I came with Caroline. I need to find her and let her know.” Ellie said.

“I’ll wait here.” 

Ellie nodded and headed back inside the party. She searched through the rooms, and frowned when she was unable to find the other girl. “Eleanor.” Elijah called as he reached out to catch her attention. “Is Matt alright?”

“I think his hand might have been broken, but I was able to fix it. It was still a dick move though.” Ellie told him.

Elijah chuckled slightly. “Well, Kol can be a dick sometimes.” She grinned at his response. “You look like you’re looking for someone.”

“I am, actually. I was looking for Caroline. I was going to leave with Jenna but since I came with Caroline I didn’t want to leave without saying anything.” Ellie informed him.

“I believe she actually left a little while ago.” Elijah replied. “I haven’t seen her in some time.”

She lowered her voice slightly and told him, “I’m probably going to stay at Caroline’s again.”

No one else knew that they’d shared the apartment, but he nodded in understanding. “I will likely be staying here for the night. Be sure to stay safe.” He told her.

“I will.” Ellie confirmed with a gentle smile. She’d started to walk away before she turned back abruptly and moved close to speak softly in his ear. “She was lying.” She knew she didn’t need to give context on what she was talking about.

“I know.” He assured her. “Goodnight, Eleanor.”

“Goodnight, Elijah.” When she walked away from him, she noticed the way Esther was watching her and felt a coldness rush over her. There was something dark about the older woman and suddenly Caroline calling her the evil witch felt much more accurate. Something bad was coming and it was coming fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy One Year Anniversary! I can't believe it's already been a year since I started posting this! I hope you guys are still enjoying this story! Don't forget that you're getting a double update this weekend since Valentine's Day is tomorrow. As always, please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
> 
> Posted: 2/13/21


	56. All My Children

**Chapter 56: All My Children**

_ October 23, 2010 _

When Ellie woke, she had a sick feeling in her stomach. She’d had nightmares of Esther all night. The thought that Elijah was in the house with Esther made her skin crawl. She’d never seen anyone that radiated such darkness. Not even Klaus had a signature that felt like that. Hell, even Mikael hadn’t felt so dark. It was like Esther had been touched by something so dark that it tainted her very soul.

Of course, being dead and on the other side for a thousand year was bound to have ramifications on a person. She could have just been paranoid, but Elijah being suspicious of his mother was reason enough for Ellie not to trust her. She wished they were both wrong though. Rebekah clearly wanted everything to be ok. She wanted it badly enough that she was willing to look past anything that might have been suspicious.

None of the Mikaelsons, save for Klaus and the sacrifice thing, had done anything to hurt anyone that she cared about, not counting Kol crushing Matt’s hand. There was no way she could let anything happen to them. She meant it when she said Rebekah was her friend. Klaus was sort of her friend. Elijah was… well she didn’t know what to call him. After last night, her thoughts got all jumbled up and her heart started racing when she thought of him. She’d never danced with anyone like that, and it didn’t help that everyone was making sly comments about something going on between the two of them.

Caroline had continued making remarks about the way Ellie and Elijah had danced, at least until Ellie had caught sight of the drawing Klaus had done for the blonde. It was a stunning drawing of Caroline and a horse, though Caroline refused to tell her why he had drawn that specifically. At the bottom he’d written her a small note and thanked her for her honesty. Caroline hadn’t wanted to talk about what that meant either. She’d even gone so far as to throw one of her boots at Ellie when she’d told the blonde that she thought that they’d make a cute couple.

Ellie had ended up going back to the apartment. She’d told Caroline that she needed to clear her head. It was true, but she’d also managed to keep where she was staying a secret for this long and she wanted to keep it that way. The apartment had become a sort of safe haven for her. No one except for Elijah knew about it, and she had realized a good while ago that she trusted him a great deal.

It didn’t even feel right to be at home anymore. Without Jenna and Jeremy there, Ellie honestly couldn’t deal with being there. She and Elena seemed to be at odds over literally everything lately. With her desperately needing to let off some steam, she found herself once more in the woods with Katherine and Jenna. “I heard someone was nice and cozy with a certain Original last night. Too bad I couldn’t have been there.” Katherine said slyly as they stretched.

Her head snapped up and she glared at her aunt. “Jenna!” She whined, but both Jenna and Katherine looked entirely pleased. “Come  _ on _ , Katherine. Not you too.”

“Oh, who else is there?” Katherine asked curiously.

“Too many of you.” Ellie huffed.

Katherine quirked up a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Like who?” She pried.

“You, Jenna, Caroline, Rebekah, hell even Kol is making comments.” Ellie huffed in frustration. “I don’t know what you guys are talking about.  _ Nothing  _ is going on with me and Elijah.” Ellie insisted.

Katherine didn’t look like she believed her in the slightest. She crouched down to Ellie’s level and pointed out, “Just because you say it’s true, doesn’t mean it’s actually true. Plus, just because you might have convinced yourself nothing is happening doesn’t mean that the rest of us are blind. And you can’t lie to me. I know just how appealing Elijah Mikaelson can be. It’s not hard to imagine you falling for him.”

Ellie was surprised to hear Katherine mention anything about her past connections with Elijah. Other than Stefan, Katherine never really said anything about anyone else that she’d had any kind of romantic relationship with. “I’m not falling for him.” Ellie denied.

“Of course not, you’re already smitten.” Katherine said with a shrug. “Now come on, we have jogging to do.” Both Ellie and Jenna had improved on their speed and their endurance since they’d started working out more and Jenna was no longer gasping for breath when they stopped. “Now, what else is bugging you?”

“You mean other than the fact that Klaus and Elijah’s mom gives me the creeps and I think Caroline hit the nail on the head calling her the evil witch?” Ellie asked.

“Yes.”

Ellie frowned. She knew what was bugging her, but she also knew that it would make Katherine mad as well as cause her to hate Elena even more. But she was really frustrated by the situation, so she confessed, “Elena made out with Damon while she was still dating Stefan.”

Katherine’s reaction was immediate. Her back went ramrod straight and she had a dark look on her face. “Elena did what?” She asked it at the exact same time Jenna did.

“She and Damon made out. And she doesn’t get why I’m so upset about it, and maybe I’m overreacting a bit but… I spent the entire summer with Stefan and Klaus and there were times that I thought Stefan had really given in to the Ripper and then the moment Klaus was gone I’d watch as Stefan tried his best not to fall apart.” Ellie told them as she twirled a thin arrow between her fingers. “Stefan did everything for her, to keep her safe, and then she goes and does that… I just don’t think it was right.”

“Of course it’s not right.” Jenna, surprisingly, was the first one to speak. “She cheated on him, with his brother no less. No matter what he did to her, she knew that he loved her and she cheated anyways.”

“She tried to bring up the whole thing where he nearly drove her over the bridge, which, admittedly, was a very shitty thing for him to do. He was the one that saved us from that bridge, he should have known how badly that was going to affect her. But I still don’t think he’s done any worse than Damon. And like you said, she shouldn’t have cheated on him either way.” Ellie explained. 

Katherine looked pissed. “Does Stefan know?”

Ellie shrugged. “With everything going on, I haven’t talked to him much lately, but I’m assuming so. I really should check in on him.”

Katherine nodded. “One of us should at least. His emotions are back on, I know they are. He’s just got them dialed to hatred and anger towards Klaus. Her little stunt probably didn’t help anything. It’s better to be angry than hurt and if she did that, he’s probably more hurt than he’s letting on.” Both Jenna and Ellie were watching the vampire with interest. “What?”

“You still love him.” It was Jenna that said it. Since she’d been spending more time with the vampire that looked like her nieces, she found that Katherine was really nothing like Elena had described. Elena had described Katherine as someone vicious and cold. She made Katherine out as someone with no soul and who cared for no one. But that wasn’t true. Katherine clearly still loved Stefan and she absolutely cared about Ellie. In the few times that Katherine’s family had been brought up, she saw the same longing in Katherine’s eyes that she saw in Ellie’s and Elena’s when they talked about their parents.

Katherine Pierce was no monster. Bitchy, maybe, but that didn’t make her any more a monster than any other teenaged girl. Neither Jenna nor Ellie ever seemed scared of being honest with their opinions, and Katherine finally dropped down into the dirt next to Ellie. “It doesn’t matter that I do. He loves Elena.”

The others were startled to hear Katherine confess her emotions. It was always something they all knew to be true, but Katherine never admitted it until now. “They broke up though, and now Elena’s hurting him because of whatever’s going on with Damon.” Ellie told her.

“So what, pray tell, am I supposed to do?” Katherine asked a bit helplessly. Stefan was her weakness, she could admit that to herself, but she was out of her comfort zone with knowing how to get him back.

“Be there for him. Be yourself. He fell in love with you one for you, right? I mean the version of you that you pretended to be when you first met him can’t be that different from who you really are right? Plus, he’s a little short on people who aren’t mad at him right now. He could use someone. I’m having to toe the line on a lot of stuff, you don’t have to do that.” Ellie said. “You’re Katherine Pierce, you can do whatever you want.”

Ellie seemed oddly sure that Katherine could win Stefan back, and it planted a small, dangerous seed of hope. She’d been hurt too many times to be so foolish as to think she’d actually get him back. Life had never been that kind to her. But who knew what could happen. She never thought she’d befriend her descendant. And she definitely never thought she’d have anything that she could even come close to calling family, but Jenna and Ellie were the closest thing she’d had to it in an incredibly long time. “You’re very optimistic.” Katherine replied.

“Well, I know you and I like you, so I don’t see why Stefan wouldn’t.” Ellie told her with a small shrug. “I’m just tired of being so angry at Elena. It’s exhausting.”

“Well, if she stopped acting like an idiot then you wouldn’t have to be mad at her all the time.” Katherine said. “But you know what will make you feel better? Punching stuff.” She grinned and stood before holding out a hand to the other two. “Up and at ‘em.” She instructed as she pulled them both to their feet. “Jenna, try again to stake the dummy. Ellie clearly has enough rage to do it. Do you?”

Jenna shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not typically an angry person.” Jenna confessed.

Obviously, that didn’t seem like a good enough reason for Katherine. “Really? You’ve got no rage stored up inside of you from all the bullshit that’s happened to you and your family?” Katherine’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Come on, Jenna. Not even a little? Damon killed Mason. He was your friend, right? Or what about poor Ellie who was left alone after she’d been kidnapped because all they cared about was Elena? Come on Jenna… not even your boyfriend standing aside as Elena had Damon compel Jeremy away? Do you even know where Jeremy is right now?”

A shocking scream of anger ripped through Jenna’s throat before her fist shot forward and hit the dummy heavily. Jenna was breathing heavily as she pulled her hand away, but the stake stayed stuck in place. “Holy shit.” Ellie said in surprise. “You did it!”

“So much for not having any pent up anger Jenna.” Katherine replied with a pleased smirk. “Question is can you do it again?” Jenna rose to the challenge and once again shot her fist out and Ellie let out a pleased cheer when the stake stayed in the dummy. “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Katherine praised.

* * *

They spent hours in the woods working out before Ellie finally came back to the apartment. It was only after she was alone that she realized that being with Katherine and Jenna had pushed away the dark feeling that was eating away at her. Now that she was alone, it was back with a vengeance. She had buried herself in a grimoire, looking for spells or rituals that would help her should Esther’s return turn out to be a threat.

It wasn’t incredibly surprising that she lost herself in her research, and only jolted to attention when the door opened abruptly. Elijah walked into the apartment looking furious. “You were right. Elena was lying.” He told her.

She pushed the grimoire to the side and rose from her seat. “Wait, what happened? When did you talk with Elena?” She asked him.

“Not long ago. She confessed my mother’s plan to me.” Elijah explained. “In the champagne at the ball last night, my mother laced it with Elena’s blood, just like she did when she fed us Tatia’s blood. We’ve been linked.”

Ellie’s heart dropped with understanding. “All of you?” She asked even though she already knew the answer.

“Klaus cannot be killed, but we can.” Elijah told her as he scowled. “It’s not just Niklaus that my mother wants to kill.”

“She wants to kill all of you.” 

He nodded as he ran a hand through his hair. “She wants to undo the evil that she created.” He scoffed.

“No. No way in hell.” Ellie denied. “There has to be a way. There’s no way that she has that much power. That would be an insane amount of magic to undo a spell like that.”

“She isn’t doing it alone.” Elijah confessed as he walked over to pour them both a drink. “Your sister confessed that my mother has gone to your other witch friend, Bonnie, and her mother. The witch Ayana was an ancestor of the Bennett line. She was the one who helped preserve my mother’s body. From what I’ve been told, my mother is channeling the Bennett bloodline, every witch both living and dead.”

“Oh shit.” Ellie’s eyes had gone wide. That had to be thousands of witches that she was channeling. She saw what Bonnie could do with a hundred witches backing her. What the hell was Esther capable of with that many witches behind her. He passed her a drink as she asked, “What are we going to do?”

“We?” Elijah asked in surprise.

“Obviously we! Do you think that I’d just let you die?” She asked him as she crossed her arms defensively.

He quickly seemed to realize that it was the wrong thing to say so he replied, “It’s just that your sister and her friends seem quite content to sign my family’s death sentence, though I should have known better than to assume you’d go along with it.”

“Yes, you should have.” She agreed, though she wasn’t really angry with him. “I don’t know what the hell has happened to Elena. Never in a million years did I think that she would be ok with murdering people who have literally done nothing to her. Yet here we are, with her actively helping your mother’s murder plot.” 

Elijah watched as her chest rose and fell rapidly as her breathing picked up the pace. She looked sick all of a sudden. “Eleanor, are you alright?” He asked worriedly as he placed his glass down and stepped towards her.

Her eyes had gone wide with fear. “What do we do?” She repeated. “You can’t die. You can’t. You and Rebekah… Hell, even Klaus. I don’t want you guys to die, you can’t die.” Her hands were starting to shake as the panic set in. “Jesus Christ, Kol and Finn haven’t even done anything to us and she doesn’t even care. Oh my god.”

She looked down as Elijah took her hands in his. What happened to the glass she’d been holding? Had he taken it? When had he taken it? His grip was strong and sure and he didn’t even flinch when her nails dug painfully into his flesh. “It’s going to be alright. I have no intention of dying today.” He told her with certainty. “Now, I want you to think, Eleanor. You are the witch I trust the most. What would it take to sever the connection between my mother and the Bennett witches?”

Ellie tried to focus on the steady thumping of a heartbeat in her hands. Was it his heartbeat or hers? Probably his. It was too calm to be hers. “Everyone in that bloodline had the magic of a witch in them, even the ones that didn’t have access to that magic. You have to cut off someone’s access to magic to sever the connection. I don’t know if just blocking someone’s magic is enough though.” Ellie explained. Had she not been so panicked, she would have been incredibly touched to be the witch he trusted the most.

“Could you block their magic and try? Tonight is the full moon.” Elijah told her.

“She’s going to do it tonight then. Spells are almost always strongest during a full moon.” Ellie cursed. “Of course I’ll try, but if it doesn’t work how else could we break the…” Her voice trailed off as realization dawned upon her.

“What is it?”

Her voice was quiet as she spoke. “There’s only one sure fire way to break the bond.” Ellie confessed. “Elijah… you can’t be a witch  _ and _ a vampire.”

“I know. I have… taken measures to ensure my family’s survival.” He admitted.

She frowned at his careful tone. “What did you do?”

“Elena is currently with Rebekah, in the tunnels under Mystic Falls.” Elijah explained. “I’ll never be able to get close enough to get my hands on one of them but-”

“But Damon and Stefan can.” Ellie said in understanding. “Elena’s bait.”

He nodded, surprised that she wasn’t more upset. “They’d both do anything for her, even if it meant hurting someone else. I’m surprised you aren’t more opposed.”

“Is she hurt?” Ellie questioned.

“Not at the current moment. Rebekah’s under strict orders not to harm her, but should Damon and Stefan fail to break the link, she’ll kill Elena.” He already sounded like he regretted that decision.

“It won’t come to that.” Ellie said with confidence, despite her still shaking hands. “Like you said, they’d do anything to save Elena. But I have to try and save Bonnie and her mom. She just got her back, it’s not fair for her to lose her again. When is the moon full?”

“The moon will be full seven minutes past nine tonight.” Elijah supplied.

She pulled her hands from his and reached for her grimoires. When had she started thinking of the grimoires he’d given her access to as hers? “That means I have until just before that to break the link before Damon and Stefan have to do… you know.” Ellie said. 

“I need to inform Damon and Stefan of the situation. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Elijah promised her.

He started to leave when she called for him. When he turned back, she had a pleading look on her face. “Please be careful.”

“I will.” With that he was gone.

The sick feeling had gotten worse with Elijah’s departure as she realized her previous fear had been justified. The woman actually wanted to murder her children. Ellie no longer felt the need to justify her desire to keep the Mikaelsons safe. If Elena thought that it was ok to murder people who had done literally nothing to her, then why couldn’t Ellie want to keep them safe? It was worrisome how easily Elena had agreed to let them all die. What would their mother have said?

A lot of things that Elena had done since everything started was worrisome in all honesty. People were dying left and right, and on more than one occasion it had been to save Elena. The anger she felt at Elena’s treatment of Stefan was still fresh in her mind, but she blocked it out. How could Elena act like she was so much better than Katherine, when she was now doing the exact same thing that Katherine had done? Katherine had had some form of a relationship with both Damon and Stefan, but she was honest about it. Elena hadn’t even owned up to making out with Damon. She just tried to make excuses.

Now wasn’t the time to get angry over the things Elena had done. No, she had a limited amount of time to try and find an alternate solution to breaking the link between Esther and the Bennett witches, or either Bonnie or her mom was going to die. She went through the grimoires with alarming speed and she cursed the longer she went without finding anything. It seemed like no one had ever had to deal with a witch channeling someone’s entire lineage.

She shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up. It wasn’t like this was a common situation. How often did one have to stop a witch that had been dead for a thousand years from killing her children? It probably wasn’t a common occurrence. Nothing she could find seemed to be anything helpful in severing the connection between the Bennett witches and Esther. There were several things that could mute magic. Spells and herbs could do the trick. They could make the magic of a witch inaccessible, but it didn’t take the magic away from the witch. It was like muting a tv, you couldn’t hear the sound, but that didn’t mean that it had disappeared entirely.

Her worry only got worse as she searched, still finding nothing. Bonnie didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve to lose her mom. It wasn’t fair that the people she loved were losing people left and right. First Caroline lost her dad, and now Bonnie was either going to lose her magic or lose her mom. It made her want to scream. She wanted to call Katherine. Maybe the other girl would know what to do, or at least know how to keep Ellie sane.

But she couldn’t call Katherine, not when Elijah could be back any minute. She definitely couldn’t tell Katherine where she was. She couldn’t even tell Jenna. Instead, she forced her panic to the backburner and dove into research.

* * *

The hours passed quickly, far too quickly for Ellie’s liking. Elijah had returned and had set out to help her. He’d picked up a grimoire she’d yet to go through and began reading. A frustrated groan escaped her, catching Elijah’s attention. “What is it?” He asked.

She looked desperate. “There’s not enough time.” She confessed. “There’s not enough time and we’re so close to there being no time left and I don’t want anything bad to happen to Bonnie or her mom but I don’t want anything bad to happen to you or Rebekah or Klaus or anyone. I hate your mom. I hate her so much. What kind of mother does this type of shit to her kids? What excuse could she possibly have for this? I want to make it all stop but I don’t know how to make it stop and I’m way out of my league here and I don’t know what I’m doing and-”

Ellie had fallen into a full on rant. Had his hearing not been as enhanced as it was, he probably wouldn’t have been able to understand her. She’d lost her color again and had risen from her seat as she spoke and paced. He rose to meet her, catching her arms and forcing her to stop. “Eleanor, you have to calm down.” He spoke slowly, forcing her to meet his eye. “Fixing this isn’t your responsibility.”

“But Elena’s the one that gave Esther the blood to-”

“You are not responsible for Elena’s actions. Her actions were her own. No one forced her hand into helping my mother. Do not blame yourself for something that was out of your control.” Elijah insisted. “Everything is going to be alright. My family and I have survived a thousand years. We have survived lifetime after lifetime of our father hunting us down. We will survive this as well.”

She reached up to grab a hold of his wrists, to anchor herself. “I’m scared, Elijah.” She confessed it so quietly, it was barely a whisper. “I’m so scared.”

His heart constricted painfully in his chest. It was a sensation that he hadn’t felt in such a long time. This incredible witch stood before him, terrified of something happening to him or his siblings. “It’s going to be fine.” He assured her as he tried his best to sound sincere. In truth, he had no clue how this was going to turn out. It was doubtful that Stefan and Damon would risk Elena’s life, but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t try to rescue her instead of doing as he’d told them. He wouldn’t tell her that though, she didn’t need to hear it.

“How can you be sure?” Ellie asked him skeptically. He’d opened his mouth to reply, but he made a choked noise instead. “Elijah?” She asked worriedly. “No! Elijah! Elijah!” His skin turned a familiar shade of grey as his eyes rolled back. Ellie reached out, wrapping her arms around him and going down as well as he fell. “No, no, no, no…” She repeated it as she stared at him. “Elijah, no, please wake up.” She begged.

When he remained unresponsive, she sent Klaus a frantic text asking where he was. He replied almost immediately, telling her that he and Kol were at The Grill before asking what was wrong. It must have been the fact that he was a hybrid that kept him from desiccating like Elijah had. But who had been daggered? It didn’t matter. She didn’t have time to care. She had to get Elijah to Klaus, at least then she might be able to protect him. How the hell did she get him out without it looking like she had a dead body?

An idea struck her as she used her magic to get both her and Elijah back on their feet. No one would question anything if they couldn’t see anything. “ _ Invisique _ .” She said softly and watched as her reflection and Elijah’s disappeared from the window. She kept him close to her as she rushed them out to the car before carefully placing him in the passenger’s seat. She dropped the spell as she pulled out of the drive. Someone would notice a car driving down the road with no people inside it way before they realized that something was wrong with Elijah.

Her heart was racing as she drove and she kept shooting glances at Elijah. She was flying down the road, when Elijah started choking and gasping. Ellie barely slowed as she looked over at him. “Eleanor?” He asked. His voice was rough.

“You’re awake. Thank god.” She replied.

“Where are we going?”

“To Klaus. If you’re together, you’re safer. I don’t know what the hell happened. If one of your other siblings got daggered, I guess you all got daggered, but it didn’t work on Klaus. He was still awake.” She told him. He didn’t protest and kept his eyes trained on the road. “Do you think it was-”

“The handiwork of none other than Stefan and Damon Salvatore? Absolutely. There is no one else that could have done it.” Elijah replied. It wasn’t but a minute more before they reached the town square and she hastily pulled into a parking spot.

“Where are they?” She asked as she stayed close to him.

He nodded his head to the alley next to The Grill. “There.”

“Yeah, we have a lot in common. She hates you as much as I do.” Damon was saying as they approached.

Klaus had lunged forward, but stopped at the sound of Elijah’s voice. “Leave him!” He called. Klaus turned slowly to stare at Elijah and Ellie. “We still need him, Niklaus.”

“What did mother do?” Klaus asked as Ellie took in the scene before her. Kol and Alaric were both crumpled against the wall while Stefan laid motionless on the steps. It was obvious that Kol had somehow been the one to get daggered. When Elijah didn’t reply right away, Klaus asked again. “What did she do, Elijah?”

Ellie followed Elijah as he made his way down the stairs, pulling his phone from his pocket as he did so. He walked past Klaus, going straight to Damon. “You tell me where the witches are, or I’ll have my sister kill Elena right now.” He threatened.

“There’s no way Sabrina is going to let Elena die.” Damon dismissed. “Besides, you told me we had until after nine.”

“I’m sure Rebekah would be more than happy to start her work early.” Elijah replied.

“Sabrina, you can’t be serious right now.”

Ellie gave him a look as she replied, “I don’t want Elena to die, but I don’t want them to die either.”

Damon looked conflicted before he sighed. “Stefan and I will take care of it.” He said finally.

“You’d better.” Klaus warned. “Or it won’t just be Elena dying.”

Stefan rose and dusted himself off but before he and Damon could leave, Elijah asked again, “Where are they?”

“The most likely place will be at the house where the witches were burned.” Damon told them.

“What about him?” Ellie asked as she nodded her head toward Alaric.

“I’ll have the pretty doctor lady take him home.” Damon said, sending a text to whoever he was talking about.

Elijah nodded and Stefan and Damon headed up the steps. “Bloody hell.” Kol groaned as he woke.

“Come on, brother. Chop, chop, we haven’t much time.” Klaus said.

“Much time for what?” Kol asked as he took the hand that Ellie offered and she helped pull him to his feet. “Many thanks, love.”

“You’re welcome. Your mom is trying to kill you. We don’t have much time. We have to stop her before she does.” Ellie told him. “Let’s go. We can follow Damon and Stefan to make sure they follow through with their end of the deal.”

Klaus shot her a grin as they headed for the car. “You seem quite sure of yourself.” Klaus told her.

“I do love a woman that knows how to take charge.” Kol flirted and she rolled her eyes at both of them. She slid into the passenger’s seat, letting Elijah take the wheel. “What? Don’t want to come back here with me? Are you scared of me falling head over heels for me, love?”

“How are you able to flirt when we’re literally trying to keep you from dying?” She asked him.

“Ah, it’s a special gift of mine.” He shot back cheekily.

Ellie just scoffed at him. She wouldn’t say it out loud, but she was a bit grateful for his witty banter. It was a good distraction from her worry. “Lovely for you, but I think I’ll have to pass.” She sassed.

He and Klaus burst into laughter, clearly amused by her. “How you wound me! A hundred years I’ve been locked away and the prettiest girl around rejects me. How shall I ever recover?”

“Oh that line might’ve worked a bit better had I not been a twin and had you not met at least two girls other than Elena and I that looked exactly like me.” She replied.

Kol snapped his fingers dramatically, “Drats, I suppose you’re right, but somehow you’ve still managed to surpass them all.” He told her.

“Still a no, but A for effort though.”

The conversation died down the closer they got to their destination. They parked next to where Stefan and Damon had parked. Like they had during the summer, Ellie and Stefan shared a significant look. No matter what happened, this wasn’t going to be easy. Stefan and Damon disappeared in a blur. “Let’s get to it then.” Klaus said.

Now that they were here, Ellie could feel the energy that was Esther’s magic. It was the strongest thing she’d ever felt, though she was sure it was amplified by the magic of the witches she was channeling. “This way.” Ellie told them. They stayed close together and she remained carefully placed between Elijah and Klaus as they walked.

She just barely caught a glimpse of Bonnie as they moved inside the house, though she didn’t think that Bonnie saw her. “My sons, come forward.” Esther called. Kol was walking just a bit faster than the other three, putting himself front and center.

“Stand beside me.” Finn called, holding a hand out to his mother for her to take.

“It’s ok.” Esther said calmly, looking unbothered by their presence. “They can’t enter.” A large circle of salt had been drawn with a star made of salt was done inside it. At each point of the star, a torch was lit. A torch for each of the Mikaelson siblings.

Kol strolled forward, but the torches shot up in response, keeping him out. “That’s lovely.” Kol said sarcastically. His humor from the car ride long gone. “We’re stuck out here while the favorite son plays sacrificial lamb. How pathetic you are, Finn.”

“Be quiet, Kol. Your brother knows virtue you cannot even imagine.” Esther retorted and Ellie felt a fire race through her veins. She really hated Elijah’s parents.

“Whatever you think of us, killing your own children would be an atrocity.” Elijah told her calmly.

“My only regret is that I did not let you die a thousand years ago.” Esther replied.

Ellie was unable to hold her tongue, and asked, “Really? That’s your only regret?” All three of the Mikaelsons outside of the circle turned to look at her in surprise. “You don’t even regret letting Mikael mistreat your children so badly that he was their greatest fear for a thousand years? Being a vampire only amplifies traits you already have, which means Mikael was a piece of shit long before he was a vampire.”

“You dare speak to me?” Esther asked.

“I dare.” Ellie shot back, her anger making her more confident than she normally would have been. “You turned Mikael into a monster with the sole intention of killing your children.”

“He was doing what was right.”

“No, he hated Klaus because you cheated on him. Because you just had to go and sleep with another man. That wasn’t Klaus’ fault but you let him get punished for it anyways. You locked away his werewolf side. It was your fault he even had a werewolf side.” Ellie said angrily.

Esther’s eyes narrowed dangerously and all three of the Mikaelsons stepped closer towards Ellie. “I suggest watching your tone.” Esther hissed. “I do not take kindly to being disrespected.”

“You don’t deserve respect. You failed completely as a mother and you don’t even have the capability of apologizing to your children for how badly you failed. You don’t even seem to care. Christ, they’ve been fighting for a thousand years and yet I don’t doubt in the slightest that Klaus loves his siblings more than you ever loved them.”

Before Esther could do something to Ellie for her attitude, Klaus cut across, breaking the staring contest that the two witches had been locked in. “Enough. All this talk is boring me. End this now, mother, or I’ll send you back to hell.”

“For a thousand years, I’ve been forced to watch you, felt the pain of every victim, suffered while you shed blood. Even you, Elijah, with your claim to nobility, you’re no better.” Esther told them. Ellie reached out, taking a hold of Elijah’s arm as she tried to make him understand that Esther was a liar. “All of you, you’re a curse on this earth, stretched out over generations. If you’ve come to plead for your life. I’m sorry. You’ve wasted your time.”

Her eyes were watery, but Ellie didn’t buy it for a second. You don’t do something as awful as this to your children and then pretend to love them. She didn’t know how long it would be before the connection broke but she didn’t know how to stall Esther. “If you were sorry, you wouldn’t do this to them.” She said angrily.

In an instant, Esther’s eyes dried and she gave Ellie a dark look. “It has to be done. It is what is right. You’re nothing but a foolish child. I was right to go to Elena, you are obviously deluded, you poor thing.” Ellie glared at the woman and was terribly tempted to set the woman on fire. There was a shift in the magic in the air. “No… Sisters! Do not abandon me!”

The flames shot higher than they had when Kol had approached. “Mother!” Finn called.

Ellie couldn’t see what was happening. The flames were burning so bright and so hot that Elijah brought his arm up to shield her as they both looked away. It wasn’t long before the fire went out, but it had felt like ages. She couldn’t see the Original Witch and let her magic search the area, coming up empty. Esther and Finn were gone. “They’re gone.” She told the brothers softly.

Kol recovered the quickest. “Well, what do you say Nik, fancy another drink?” He asked with a grin.

“Sounds delightful.” Klaus replied and the duo disappeared in a flash.

The energies of Stefan and Damon were gone, as well as Bonnie’s and her mothers. Ellie and Elijah were alone. As the relief of Elijah living to see another day set in, she threw her arms around him, pulling him close. He didn’t return the gesture. His arms remained at his sides, and she pulled back. “Elijah what is it?”

“I should go.” Elijah said without looking at her. “I shouldn’t be here.”

“What? What are you talking about? Here as in this house?”

“Here as in Mystic Falls.” Elijah told her as he backed away from her slightly. “You shouldn’t be around me.”

Ellie’s eyes were wide with confusion. “What are you talking about?” She asked again. “Why shouldn’t I?”

Something in Elijah seemed to snap at her question. “I just held your sister hostage, Eleanor! Rebekah would have killed her the moment I gave her the chance. I knew that. I wielded my own sister like I would a sword. I used her as a weapon.” He said angrily.

“This is Esther getting to you!”

“Esther was right!” He nearly shouted, but forced himself to calm when she flinched back. “All my talk of virtue, Eleanor, but when it suits my needs I kill, maim, and torture without hesitation. I am no better than Klaus or Esther. You do not benefit from my staying here. I only put you at risk. I’ll go.”

He started to turn, but she jolted forward, grabbing his shoulder and forcing him to turn. “No!” She said with more force than she’d ever used with him before. “Not a chance in hell. You don’t get to make that kind of decision for me, Elijah. You don’t. I know what kind of risk I’m taking by associating with you. I’ve seen what you’re capable of one more than one occasion.”

“Then you should know that I’m right.”

“Well, for once, you’re dead wrong. I make the same risk by being friends with Rebekah, or being comrades with Klaus. My life could be in danger already just because I’m the doppelgänger. Do you know what I’ve noticed?” She asked. Her voice had gone up in pitch as her fear of him leaving right after he nearly died started to rise.

“What is that?” He questioned. His voice was carefully controlled.

“Ever since I’ve met you, the bad stuff, the worst stuff, it happens when you aren’t around. We meet, you get daggered the first time, my mom dies in front of me. You wake up, you get daggered again, I nearly get mauled by a wolf pack gone rabid before watching them die after being a part of who knows how many deaths throughout the summer. Besides, if you leave you’d break your word.”

He tried to keep his resolve, but he was struggling to say no to her when she had that look on her face. “I do try to be a man of my word.” He agreed.

Ellie, seeing the crack in his arm, putting on the most pleading expression she could manage. “Elijah, please, I’m begging you.” She said as she reached out to take a hold of his hands. “Please stay. Give me your word that you’ll stay.”

She could see him give in before he ever said anything. “Alright.” He caved. “I’ll stay. I give you my word.”

When she threw her arms around him this time, he returned the hug. “The hell were you thinking? As if I’d let you do some stupid shit like that.” She muttered it into his shoulder and he couldn’t help but laugh. Obviously, her panic had made her far more casual with him than she usually was. Despite being comfortable with him, she was still often mindful of what she said, though not nearly as much as she’d been when they first met.

“I think it’s time we got out of these woods.” He suggested.

Ellie drew back quickly. “I need you to take me to Bonnie’s mom’s house. Her mom is in transition. I need to be there for her. I don’t know if she’ll want me there, but I have to offer.”

“Of course.” They made their way back to the car and set off.

When they arrived, Caroline’s car was already in the drive. She left Elijah in the driveway and knocked on the front door. “Ellie?”

“Can I come in? I know what happened. Does she… is it alright with her if I come in?” There was a sudden nervousness. What if Bonnie rejected her?

“I don’t know if…”

“Come in.” Bonnie’s voice came from behind Caroline.

Caroline let Ellie in immediately and as the door shut, they could just barely hear as Elijah’s car pulled out of the drive. “Bon… Bonnie are you ok?”

The blank expression that Bonnie had dropped, and as she started to cry, Caroline and Ellie wrapped themselves around her. “Shh, let it out.” Caroline encouraged. They stood there until Bonnie’s tears slowed. “We’re right here, Bon. We aren’t going anywhere.”

“Thank you guys for being here with me. I don’t want to be alone.” Bonnie confessed.

“We’re your best friends, Bonnie. Of course we’re here.” Caroline told her.

“We aren’t going anywhere.” Ellie added.

Bonnie sniffed. “I’m gonna go sit with her, wait for her to wake up.”

“Would you like us to come sit with you?” Ellie asked softly.

“That would be nice.” Bonnie agreed. The three girls went into the bedroom where Bonnie’s mom was lying on the bed. Bonnie sat down first and as the tears rolled down her cheeks. It was hard for both Ellie and Caroline to watch. They both knew what it was like to go through the pain of losing a parent. Bonnie didn’t deserve this.

They sat with her for a while before a knock came from the front door. “I’ll get it. Ellie, you stay with Bonnie.” Caroline instructed.

Ellie stood and rested against the doorframe. “Elena, I don’t know if it's a good idea that you’re here right now.” Clearly, Elijah and Rebekah had kept their word and let Elena go once they were safe.

“But I…”

“She doesn’t want to see you.” Caroline told her, though it wasn’t meant to be unkind.

“Please just let me talk to her.” Elena pleaded.

“Abby’s in transition. It’s gonna be really hard over the next few days, and if Bonnie needs some time to deal, then I think you should give it to her.”

“She’s always been there for me, Caroline.” Elena said. “Please let me just be there for her, too.” Bonnie rose from her spot on the bed, listening in on their conversation.

Caroline sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, Elena. I know that you want to help, but put yourself in her shoes. Everything that happened tonight was to save you. And that’s ok, because she loves you so much. But somehow, she’s always the one who gets hurt.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Elena said and even though she couldn’t see her twin, Ellie knew she was on the verge of tears. “I just… just tell her that I love her, ok?”

“Of course, I will.” Bonnie had started to cry again as Caroline and Elena spoke. Ellie reached out for Bonnie. She didn’t even bother to say anything. She just moved forward and held the other witch, trying to offer any comfort she could. This was going to be hard, but at least they had each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you guys have a great day and I hope you all enjoy this chapter! As always please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
> 
> Posted: 2/14/21


	57. 1912

**Chapter 57: 1912**

_ October 24, 2010 _

Ellie and Caroline had spent the night at Bonnie’s mom’s house. Caroline, having been through transition before, was a pretty good option to have around to help Abby through it. Ellie was there in more of a moral support capacity, and to help keep things under control in case something were to happen.

Abby waking up had been hard. Ellie thought it was hard to watch Elijah wake up after he’d been daggered. She’d also thought that watching the werewolves when they were in transition had been bad. Somehow, this was so much worse. It was probably, at least in part, worse because it was Bonnie’s mom. Ellie had ended up taking Bonnie outside to calm her down. Her emotions had gotten the best of her.

If there was one thing Caroline and Ellie had gotten good at over the years, it was understanding what they both needed to do without having to really say anything at all. It had been decided that should the need arise, Ellie would take care of Bonnie while Caroline took care of Abby. Bonnie had struggled to breathe. And before Ellie could stop it, Bonnie had turned and vomited into the dirt.

Once she’d calmed down enough, Ellie led her back inside to wash her mouth out and to brush her teeth. Abby had yet to complete the transition, she had time to think it through before she had to go through with it or not. Currently, Caroline and Ellie sat curled up on the couch as Abby and Bonnie talked things through. “Was it like this… for you?” Ellie asked as she drummed a pattern into her thigh.

“What do you mean?” Caroline replied.

“Was it bad? I didn’t get to be there for you for one of the biggest things that’s ever happened to you. I couldn’t help you through it.” Ellie told her.

Caroline gave her a soft look, squeezing her hand. “When I first woke up, I was really confused and hungry. I didn’t understand why I was so hungry and I didn’t understand what it was I was craving so badly. I managed to get my hands on a blood bag. I drank it before I even understood why I wanted it.” Caroline explained. “After that, all the times I had been compelled… it was like a veil had been lifted and suddenly I could remember everything. I hadn’t really been sure what was happening, but I ended up at the fair. You were still in the hospital at the time.”

“What happened at the fair?”

“There was this guy… I ended up feeding on him. I killed him because I didn’t know how to stop and once he was dead I just… I just sat there and cried until Damon found me. I didn’t realize it at the time, but he had planned on staking me. Elena stopped him, but it was Stefan that saved me. I remember him taking me to the bathroom to clean me up. He was so gentle with me. He calmed me down when I’d worked myself up to a panic attack.”

“He did?”

“Yeah. He was amazing.” Caroline praised. “He taught me control. He even got Bonnie to make me a daylight ring. I don’t know what I would have done had it not been for him. I just… I never want Bonnie’s mom to feel that fear that I’d felt before Stefan was helping me. So I wanna do whatever I can to help. Don’t feel bad about not being there, you hadn’t known anything and I was ok. I’m ok now too.” 

She might not have expressed the extent of her concern, but it felt better to know that Stefan had looked out for Caroline when Ellie hadn’t been able to. Caroline was clearly listening in on the conversation between the mother and daughter in the other room, and Ellie nudged her knee. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?”

“How this is affecting you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Caroline denied.

“Come on, don’t lie to me. I’m your best friend, aren’t I?”

“Of course you are.” Caroline replied immediately.

Ellie turned to face Caroline fully. “Care, Bonnie’s mom is in the same situation your dad was only a few days ago. Whatever you’re feeling, you’ve put it on the backburner so that you can be here for Bonnie and her mom, no matter what her decision is. I would have to be totally oblivious to think that that wouldn’t affect you in the slightest.”

“What do you want me to say, Ellie? That I’m still hurt because my dad hated what I am so much that he let himself die? Or that I’m so scared Bonnie’s mom is going to go through the same decision and I’m terrified of how much that would hurt Bonnie? It’s not fair and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“I’d rather you just talk about your feelings. The way my parents died, and what happened to your dad or Bonnie’s mom is all so different, but the pain of losing your parents doesn’t change. I think you’re a really amazing friend to do what you’re doing for Bonnie.” Ellie replied. “I’m really proud of you.”

Caroline leaned over and hugged Ellie. The two of them stayed like that until Bonnie walked out of the bedroom. They sat up and looked over to Bonnie expectantly. “She’s decided to complete the transition.”

Ellie wasn’t sure if Bonnie looked relieved or not. “A blood bag would probably be the easiest way to feed. It might make her feel a little better.” Ellie suggested.

Bonnie nodded. “That would probably be a good idea.”

“I can go get her one. Maybe we could get you some clothes and stuff too?”

“Yeah.”

The almost awkward silence was disrupted by the ringing of Ellie’s phone. “Sorry, it’s Jenna.” Ellie told them. When they nodded in understanding, she slipped outside. “Hey, Jenna. What’s up?”

_ “Ellie, did you hear about what happened?” _ Jenna asked.

“Hear about what? I’ve been at Bonnie’s mom’s house.”

_ “Wait, Abby? You’re at Abby’s house? Why are you at Abby’s house?” _

“You know Abby?” Ellie asked in confusion.

_ “Ellie, she was your mom’s best friend. Of course I know her. I haven’t seen her since you guys were so little. I didn’t know she and Bonnie were on speaking terms again.” _

She shook her head at how easily Jenna had gotten distracted. “Jenna, you didn’t call me to talk about Abby. What’s going on?”

_ “Ric’s in jail.” _

“What? Why?” Ellie asked worriedly.

_ “That doctor or whatever shot him.” _

“What doctor? Wait, that girl? What do you mean she shot him and now he’s in jail?”

_ “Apparently he came at her with a knife? I think she’s claiming that he’s the one that keeps killing people.” _

It felt like Ellie’s head was spinning. “What? What are you talking about?”

_ “You didn’t know? Ellie people on the Founder’s Council have been getting murdered. All the murder weapons have come from Ric’s stash of weapons along with the weapons from the Gilbert stash.” _

“No. I have no idea what you’re talking about. People have been getting murdered?” Ellie asked in shock.

_ “Ellie, Caroline’s dad was one of the victims.” _

“Literally no one has told me anything was going on. But really that shouldn’t surprise either of us at this point.” Jenna could hear the frustration in Ellie’s voice. She wasn’t wrong when she said that they often didn’t tell her things. “How many people have died?”

_ “The medical examiner and Bill Forbes, but what I don’t get is that Ric nearly died. If it wasn’t for Elena, then he would have just been dead.” _

“Jenna, what the hell are you talking about?” Ellie asked as she leaned against the railing of the porch. “What did Elena do?”

_ “They didn’t know if whoever did it was supernatural or not, and Ric was hurt really badly… so Elena made sure that he died by supernatural hands.” _

Realization dawned on Ellie. “Are you telling me she killed him? Jesus Christ why does no one ever tell me anything. Ok, what do you need me to do?”

_ “I know I broke up with him, but is it wrong that I’m still worried about him?” _

“No, that just makes you a good person. Do you want me to go check on him?”

_ “Please.” _

“Alright. Listen, I’ll have Care take me. She has to come back to get some stuff for Bonnie anyways.”

_ “Wait, what’s going on with Bonnie and Abby?” _

“I’ll fill you in when we go to work out.” Neither of them had told the others that they were regularly hanging out with Katherine. Especially not with how much they all hated her. The two said their goodbyes as Caroline stepped out of the house.

“Is everything ok?”

Ellie sighed heavily. “When is it ever? Do you think you can take me back to Mystic Falls with you? Stuff has come up and I need to go check on it.”

“Yeah, of course. Come on.”

* * *

After she went to check on Alaric, Ellie found herself in the woods with Jenna and Katherine. They had already been there a while, and Katherine had made several approving comments on their progress. Jenna and Ellie had switched from hitting a punching bag, to hitting mitts that Katherine wore. She used her enhanced speed to make it more difficult for them to hit before she moved. “If you can hit it with me using my speed, you’ll stand a much better chance against a vampire. It’s not like they’re going to go easy on you. Plus, it’ll give you the ability to kick any human’s ass.”

“I think you just like mocking us when we miss.” Jenna huffed as she halted her movements. She opted to sling the gloves off her hands and dropped against a fallen tree to drink her water.

“Well, that’s fun too.” Katherine confessed with a grin. “But really, you’ve gotten much better.”

It was nice to hear, especially when they knew that Katherine was being sincere. Since they’d started working out, there’d been a shift in the dynamics. Ellie had found it fascinating to watch Jenna as she stopped being fearful of Katherine and as she started to treat Katherine like she did Ellie. “Now, are you gonna tell me about what happened?” Jenna asked Ellie curiously.

“With Ric or with Abby?”

“Ric first, then whatever’s going on with Abby.” Jenna decided.

“Well, Ric’s a little on edge. He was a bit agitated. Apparently, Dr. Fell shot him because he came at her with a knife that she’d had hidden in her things. Then she used vampire blood to heal him and Sheriff Forbes has put him in a cell to keep him safe since he has vampire blood in his system. She’s not saying it’s him that killed the others, she’s just trying to keep him safe. That’s all I really know.”

Jenna nodded, looking conflicted. “I hope they find whoever it is soon.”

Katherine had dropped down next to Ellie as she replied, “I’m sure they will.”

“What about Abby? I haven’t seen her in years.”

Ellie wasn’t sure how Jenna was going to react, or if she even knew what had gone on yesterday. “Jenna, do you know what was going on yesterday?” Jenna frowned as Ellie explained. “At the ball, Elena let Esther use her blood to link all the Mikaelson’s together. Last night was a full moon. Esther was going to use Finn, who was apparently ok with dying and ok with all of his siblings dying as well.”

“But what does that have to do with Abby?”

“You know how Bonnie and her Grams are witches?” Ellie asked as Jenna nodded again. “So is Abby. Apparently, a thousand years ago, Esther knew an ancestor of theirs. She was channeling their entire bloodline, living and dead. The only way to break that connection was to break the chain of witches.”

Ellie could tell that Jenna was confused. “What does that mean?”

Katherine could see how reluctant Ellie was, so she broke the news for her. “You can’t be a witch and a vampire.” She said gently. 

“Abby’s a…”

“Not quite yet, she’s in transition. But yes, she’s going to be.” Ellie replied.

“How is she doing? How’s Bonnie doing?” Jenna asked.

“It could be worse. Caroline’s going to help them through it. She’s gonna teach Abby control and stuff.”

Jenna looked conflicted. “How did it happen?”

“Damon I think. They did it to save Elena.”

“Save Elena?”

Ellie winced slightly. She wasn’t sure how Jenna would take it, but she told her anyways. “Elijah kind of kidnapped Elena. Rebekah held her hostage and if Damon and Stefan didn’t find a way to break the connection, Rebekah was going to kill her.”

“They didn’t hurt her, did they?” Jenna asked worriedly.

Katherine scoffed. “Oh come on now, Jenna. All of us are well aware that Damon and Stefan would move heaven and hell before they let anything happen to her.” 

Ellie snorted. “To be fair, she is right, but no they didn’t hurt her. As soon as they were safe they let her go.”

It seemed like today was going to be a busy one when Ellie’s phone started to ring. “Oh, speak of the devil.” Katherine said slyly. 

“Shut up.” Ellie told her as she rolled her eyes.

“Tell lover boy we said hello.” Katherine teased.

“Shut up.” Ellie repeated as she answered her phone. “Hi, Elijah.” 

The moment she said his name, Jenna made a face and shared a look with Katherine. Ellie ignored them after she flipped them off.  _ “Eleanor, where are you?” _

“I’m with Jenna. Why? Is everything ok?”

She could hear Elijah sigh.  _ “I’m sorry to cut into time with your aunt, but can you come to the house? We need to speak with you.” _

“Klaus’ house?” She figured that that was what he meant since he’d said house instead of apartment. The use of ‘we’ was also a hint.

_ “Yes. It’s important.” _

His lack of saying anything over the phone was telling, and a bit concerning. “Yeah, yeah, I’m on my way. I’ll be there soon.”

“Is something wrong?” Jenna asked as Ellie stood.

“I don’t know, but he wouldn’t say it was important if it wasn’t. I should go.”

Katherine gave her a knowing grin. “God, you’ve got it bad.”

“You’re delusional, but it’s ok I still love you.” Ellie sassed.

“It’s impossible to not love me.”

“I think Elena would readily disagree.”

Jenna choked slightly on her water, causing the two girls to grin at her. “I swear. You guys are gonna be the death of me one day.”

“As if I’d let you die.” Ellie replied. “Anyways, I’ll be going. Try not to go too hard on Jenna please.”

“No promise. Go before you’re late.” Katherine replied.

Ellie made her way back to her car and drove out of the woods before heading to the Mikaelson mansion. She’d been more relieved than she’d expected to be when Elijah had called. Even though he’d promised to stay, and he wasn’t the type to break his word, she’d still been worried that when she got back to Mystic Falls that he would have disappeared. But what could have happened that he’d called her to ask her to come over? Was it Esther related? The thought of Esther making another move so soon made her feel sick.

She pulled into the drive and had barely knocked on the front door before Elijah opened it. “Thank you for coming so quickly.” Elijah greeted as he stepped aside to let her in.

“Of course. What’s going on?” Ellie asked as she looked over to Rebekah and Klaus to see both of them looking stressed.

“It seems we’ve come across a problem and we’ve collectively decided to trust you enough to tell you about it.” Klaus replied as he took a drink.

“Is it Esther?” She questioned.

“No, with Esther in the wind at the moment, she actually isn’t the biggest problem.” Klaus said before he nodded to Rebekah.

Rebekah passed Ellie her phone and a video played of Elena in the caves from last night. “I don’t understand. What am I looking at?”

“Look at the images on the wall behind Elena.” Rebekah instructed. “The natives told the story of our family history. Look at the images on the far wall.”

Ellie could faintly see the drawings. “What is it? What am I looking at?”

“A native worshipping at the great white oak tree.” Rebekah explained.

“When Rebekah showed me this last night. I reminded her that we burned that tree to the ground before we left this place.” Klaus told her as he went to refill his glass.

Rebekah pointed to something that Ellie couldn’t really make out. “But these markings that precede it are what caught my attention. That’s the native calendar.” Ellie zoomed in on what Rebekah pointed at. “That date means that that white oak tree is dated three hundred years after our family fled back to the old world. There must have been a sapling, a new tree to replace the old.”

Ellie felt panicked. “Are you telling me that there’s a tree that could kill you?”

“That’s exactly what we’re telling you.” Klaus confirmed.

“Wait, why are you telling me this?” Ellie asked suddenly. This wasn’t information that they’d give lightly.

It was Elijah that explained. “During the time you’ve known me and my family, you’ve proven your loyalty to each of us individually. And you’ve proven yourself on multiple occasions. We’ve learned from centuries of experience that there are very few people that we can trust. You are one of those few.”

She didn’t know how to respond. It felt like a very big deal for them to make it clear that they trusted her. They were trusting her with information that could get them killed if she betrayed them. It seemed like they realized she needed a second to process and she was grateful that they gave it to her. “So what do we do?” She asked them finally.

Rebekah grinned at her before she explained, “We need to find that tree. If it’s not still standing, we need to find what it was used for and destroy it. We were curious if you could point us in the right direction since you’ve lived here your whole life.”

“Lucky for you, my mom was always big on projects being part of the various communities of the town. The best place to start to look for any kind of records like that would be the Founders Archives. It typically has just about anything and everything to do with the town’s history.” Ellie explained.

“And this would be located where?” Elijah asked curiously.

“The library. Pretty sure the whole basement of the library is dedicated to the archives.”

“Well, that seems like a drag.” Klaus commented.

Rebekah rolled her eyes at him. “You’ve never been good at research.” She told him. “I’ll do it. Ellie, would you like to come with me?”

“Yeah, sure. I just need to go home and change.” Ellie said.

“No need. You can borrow something of mine.” Rebekah replied. “Feel free to use the shower too if you want.”

“Have you already forgotten that you have a room here?” Klaus asked curiously.

Ellie gave him a look. “It’s not like I’ve exactly picked one.”

“Perfect. You can take the room next to mine.” Rebekah said excitedly. “Unless there’s a reason you shouldn’t.” Ellie missed the look Rebekah gave Elijah just like she missed the way he glared darkly at his sister.

“I make no guarantees of staying here.” Ellie said, even though she was grinning at Rebekah’s excitement.

“I’ll fix that.” Rebekah said confidently. “We’ll be seeing you boys.” She pulled Ellie up the stairs and led her through the house with ease. “You’ll love it. Of course, we’ll have to get decorations. As of right now, all that’s in it is some basic furniture.”

Rebekah led her to a room and when she opened the door, Ellie’s jaw dropped at the sight of it. It was easily the biggest bedroom she’d ever seen. It was far bigger than her bedroom at home and bigger than her bedroom at Elijah’s apartment. “Jesus Christ, this is huge.”

The blonde looked smug. “Hmm, I’ve had bigger.”

“Of course you have.” Ellie sassed. “A shower would probably be a good idea. Can I borrow your stuff?”

“Of course you can.” Rebekah agreed. “You can just shower in my room and get ready there. Come along.”

* * *

Once Ellie had gotten dressed, the two girls had made their way to the library. They’d been searching for any kind of information for hours, but came up empty handed. “This is getting us nowhere.” Rebekah complained as she closed the folder she’d been reading through. “Now what?”

“I’m so stupid.” Ellie groaned as she looked to Rebekah.

“And why is that?”

“Because, if there was anyone that could most likely just give us information off the top of their head, it would be Mayor Lockwood.” Ellie replied. “She’s the head of like a million committees. I’m pretty sure she’s the head of the Preservation Society as well.”

“Would she be willing to meet with us?”

“I don’t see why not. She’s always liked me. Hang on, I’ll call her.”

Ellie quickly dialed the mayor and waited as it rang.  _ “Hello, this is Mayor Lockwood speaking.” _

“Hey! Mrs. Lockwood, it’s Ellie.”

_ “Ellie, honey, hi, how are you?” _

“I’m great. I was actually wondering if you could do me a favor?”

_ “What can I do for you?” _

“Rebekah, one of the Mikaelson’s, she’s doing some research on the town and she wanted to know if she could speak with you.”

_ “Well, I don’t have anything that has to be done right now. Why don’t we meet at The Grill?” _

Rebekah looked impressed as Ellie replied, “That would be great. Thank you so much.”

_ “See you soon, dear.” _

Once Ellie hung up, Rebekah started to grin. “You are far more resourceful than I’d originally expected.” Rebekah praised. “I’m impressed.”

They put the things they’d gotten out back into their places as Ellie replied, “Mrs. Lockwood and I have always gotten along. Tyler’s been one of my best friends since I was little. Come on, she might beat us there. Her office is pretty close to The Grill.”

“Alright.” Rebekah agreed. 

Ellie had been right. By the time they got to The Grill, Mayor Lockwood was already seated at a table inside. “Hello girls.”

They took their seats before Rebekah said, “Thank you for meeting with me, Mayor. When Ellie told me you were the head of the Preservation Society, I figured that you’d be a good person to ask about the oldest trees in this community.”

“A long line of Lockwood women used to keep those records back before any of them had actual jobs.” Mayor Lockwood explained with a small smile. “Plus, I’ve known Ellie her whole life and she rarely asks for favors. I saw no reason to say no.”

“Ellie and I, we’ve been to the Founders Archive but neither of us seemed to be able to find any record of the tree I’m looking for.” Rebekah told her.

“It probably got cut down.” Mayor Lockwood replied. “Big old trees built half this town in the 1900s.” As Mayor Lockwood took a sip of her coffee, Ellie felt two familiar energies and looked up as Stefan and Damon strolled into The Grill. Damon was, as always, making some sort of sarcastic remark and Ellie nudged Rebekah’s foot with her own. The blonde looked up and Ellie watched as Rebekah and Damon had some sort of weird staring contest as the two Salvatores walked by.

Once they had passed them, Rebekah looked back to Mayor Lockwood and asked, “Do you happen to know who kept the milling ledgers during that period?”

“Back then, all the logging mills were owned by the Salvatores.”

Ellie wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was probably leaning on being not so great, given that they couldn’t just compel them to give them the information. Well, they could if it weren’t for the fact that the two of them liked to guzzle vervain regularly. “Thank you so much for all your help, Mayor.”

“Of course, I needed a good coffee break anyways. If there’s anything more I could do to help either of you, just let me know.” Her phone beeped and when she read it, she let out a small sigh. “Duty calls, you two have a good day.”

Mayor Lockwood put down some money on the table before leaving. “What are we gonna do?” Ellie asked quietly as she prayed that they were quiet enough, and that Damon and Stefan were distracted enough, to not be overheard. Rebekah grinned suddenly as she pulled out her phone and typed something quickly. When she passed it over to Ellie, the message read:

_ I’ll distract them. You go snoop at their house. I’ll give you a heads up when time to go. _

“I think it’s a genius plan, don’t you?” Rebekah asked.

“What I wanna know is who do you want to flirt with more? Stefan or Damon?”

“Oh who says I can’t do both?” Rebekah shot back. “I’m a woman of many talents. Who says I can’t multitask?”

Ellie made a face of disgust. “I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that, but ok. You do that and I’ll do the other thing.”

“Let me know if you find anything.”

“Unlikely with how much crap there’s gonna be to go through, but yeah, I’ll let you know.” Ellie said before they separated. Rebekah headed for the boys and Ellie headed for the door. Once she was in the car, she dialed Elijah’s number.

_ “Hello, Eleanor. Have you and Rebekah found anything?” _ He asked when he answered the phone.

“Hey. We have a lead. The Founder’s Archive was a bust. We couldn’t find anything on it, but I managed to get Mayor Lockwood to talk with us. Apparently, as luck would have it, the Salvatores owned all the logging mills. So currently, Rebekah is distracting Stefan and Damon and I’m headed over to break into their house and try to find the records.”

_ “You’re breaking into their house?” _

“Rebekah’s gonna give me a heads up the moment they’re headed this way to give me time to get away. Worst comes to worst I’ll just cloak myself and my car until I can get away.”

_ “Would you like some help?” _ He offered and Ellie ignored the way her heart started to race slightly.

“That would be nice. We could get a lot more done together.”

_ “I’ll meet you there.” _

* * *

They’d been deep into their research when Ellie’s phone rang. “Is it Rebekah?” Elijah asked as he looked up.

“No, actually. It’s Sheriff Forbes.” Ellie frowned as she answered. “Hello?”

_ “Ellie, do you know where Jenna is?” _ Sheriff Forbes asked.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t talked to her since earlier. I’m not sure where she is right now, why?”

Sheriff Forbes sighed heavily and Ellie could almost imagine her rubbing her forehead tiredly.  _ “I’ve got Matt and Elena at the station for breaking into Meredith Fell’s apartment. I needed to let Jenna know.” _

“I’m sorry. Elena and Matt did what?” Ellie asked in disbelief.

_ “They broke into her apartment to try and find something to clear Alaric.” _

“Jesus Christ, ok, ok. I’ll get in contact with Jenna. What do I need to do?”

_ “Can you come get them? I just need someone to make sure they actually go home instead of doing something else incredibly reckless.” _

“I’m on my way.” Ellie sent a text before looking over to Elijah helplessly. “Why can’t Elena stay out of trouble for five minutes?” She whined as she ran a hand over her face.

He smiled softly at her. “Younger siblings have a way of staying in trouble.”

“That’s garbage.” She replied. “Ok, Jenna’s going to meet me at the station to get them. Are you going to stay here or?”

Elijah rose from his spot and books the records away. “Probably best if I don’t. We’ve been here for some time.”

Ellie wasn’t sure why she felt so awkward to leave, maybe it was just a reluctance to leave. Was it because she didn’t want to leave Elijah or because she didn’t want to deal with Elena’s never ending drama? “I’ll see you later then.” She said as she headed for her car.

“Good luck with your sister.” Elijah replied.

She snorted in amusement. “Thanks, I’ll need it. Or maybe she will.”

Elijah was grinning softly at her as she pulled out of the Salvatore’s drive and had disappeared by the time she was on the road. Once he was gone, she could feel her anger at Elena start to sink in. How had she even managed to rope Matt into it? He was typically the reasonable one. When she arrived at the station, Jenna had whipped into the parking lot. “Where are they?” She asked. Ellie had seen her this annoyed and mad since Alaric and Elena had sent Jeremy away.

“I just got here. I haven’t gone in yet.” Ellie replied.

Sheriff Forbes was waiting at the entrance. “I still have to speak to them before I let them go.” Jenna, in her anger, said nothing. They followed her back to her office and as they entered, Sheriff Forbes asked the two teens, “What were you thinking?”

“I know that we had no right…” Elena started.

Ellie only felt minor relief when it seemed to irritate Jenna and Sheriff Forbes as much as it irritated her. “No right? You broke the law.” Sheriff Forbes said bluntly.

“But we found something that clears Alaric. It gives him an alibi in the Brian Walters murder.”

“You mean this?” Sheriff Forbes asked as she held up a piece of paper.

“What is that?” Elena asked.

“A letter from the County Coroner’s office correcting the error in the time of death of Brian Walters. Meredith Fell received it today. She brought it to me several hours ago, full of apologizes for accusing an innocent man.” Sheriff Forbes explained as she tossed the letter down.

Matt spoke finally, asking, “Why would she have a copy hidden in her closet?”

“I can’t ask those questions, Matt, because of the very fact that you broke into her home to find it. Do you know how much I’m already protecting both of you?”

“I’m sorry.” Elena said.

“You’re sorry?” Ellie asked skeptically.

Both Matt and Elena whipped around in surprise. “What are you two doing here?” Elena asked.

Jenna gave her a dark look. “Typically, when someone breaks the law, Elena, their family gets called. You’re lucky you’re not in a jail cell. If Meredith had wanted to press charges, she could have.” She told her. “You got incredibly lucky. I hope you’re aware.”

“Just get out of my office and go with Jenna and Ellie and go home, please.” Sheriff Forbes said tiredly. “Alaric will be released as soon as the letter is authenticated. Go.”

“Let’s go.” Jenna’s voice had gone cold as she said it. She was more than a little pissed.

“Jenna-”

“Get up and get moving, right now.” Jenna told her. Matt moved first, doing as Jenna instructed before Elena finally moved.

The four of them moved in silence, with Ellie and Matt sharing looks, until they got outside. “I was just trying to help him, Jenna.” Elena said.

Both Matt and Ellie sighed. Sometimes, Elena really just needed to keep her mouth shut, “Trying to help? Trying to help are you kidding me? You broke the law, Elena! And on top of that you dragged Matt into it. How many times am I going to say it before you get it into your head that you can’t just do whatever you want? You do things and you don’t consider the repercussions or how they’re going to affect other people.” Jenna ranted.

“But Jenna-”

“Stop talking.” Jenna said and even Ellie’s eyes went wide at how sharp and cold her voice sounded. “We are going to go home, and you’re going to stay there and you’re not going to do anything else stupid and you’re going to count your blessing that that didn’t go so much worse do you understand me?” When Elena didn’t respond, Jenna asked again. “Do you understand me?”

“Yes.” Elena replied.

“Good. Now let’s go.”

“My, uh, my truck is a little bit down the street. Can I go get it?” Matt asked gently. He clearly didn’t want to make Jenna angrier than she already was.

Jenna sighed heavily before she replied, “Fine. You can go get your truck. I expect you two to meet me at the house.” She told them. “Make sure they go home. I need a minute.”

“Of course.” Ellie agreed before Jenna walked off.

“Ellie-”

“Jesus, Elena, for once hold your tongue. Because I’m only slightly less mad than Jenna. So just please shut up and go because I am tired and don’t want to deal with this.”

Matt held a hand out to stop Elena. “Just, let’s just go.” He instructed. Ellie smiled gratefully at him as he led Elena ahead. 

“What are you doing?” Elena asked as she stopped and stared down an alleyway. Ellie had stopped beside Matt and caught the annoyed expression on Damon’s face. Stefan’s mouth was covered in blood and Damon was knelt over a blond of the ground. “Stefan?”

He tried to wipe the blood away, but it didn’t do much good. “Elena.” He said softly. His eyes were wide as he panted. Ellie knew that look. She’d been a summer with him when both of them were on the verge of a breakdown.

“What are you two doing?”

“Relax, Elena. Just a little experiment.” Damon replied as he held his hands out as if to prove it was harmless. “There’s no need to make this more dramatic than it needs to be.”

“Elena, let’s just go.” Matt insisted. Elena was staring Stefan down with a look that was somewhere between disgust and disapproval. “Elena!” He forced her away, but Ellie stood where she was.

Stefan refused to meet Ellie’s gaze as he turned back towards Damon. “So… that’s gonna take a little time.” Damon said casually. “Stefan, wait, hey. Stefan, wait.” Damon called as Stefan brushed past him.

“Let me talk to him.” Ellie said, for once she didn’t feel annoyed by his presence. Damon nodded as Ellie rushed after Stefan. “Stefan. Stefan, hey!” Ellie called as she let herself fall into a sprint. “Wait!”

“No.” He replied.

They’d gotten a bit away from people before she caught up to him. “No! Wait a minute. Look at me.” His eyes were wide and if she didn’t know any better, she’d say that he looked to be on the verge of tears. “Come on, talk to me.”

“Go away, Ellie.”

“Hell no.” Ellie said as she took a hold of his arm. “Come on, Stefan. After everything. Don’t act like I don’t know when you’re on the verge of falling apart. What happened?”

“Rebekah and Damon they… they wanted me to feed. They said that if I didn’t they would and they’d kill her. I would’ve… Ellie I almost killed her just now. I couldn’t stop myself I…” He stuttered over his words.

Ellie took his hands, trying to give him something to concentrate on. “Hey, hey, it’s ok. Listen, she’s still alive, alright? That girl back there is still alive. Damon gave her his blood and she's fine.”

“But Ellie, I couldn’t stop myself.” Stefan tried to make her understand. “I couldn’t. He kept talking and it wasn’t working. If he hadn’t forced me away I would have killed her.”

“But he did, and she’s fine. She won’t even remember this.” Ellie assured him. Stefan looked panicked and Ellie’s heart ached a bit as she moved forward to hug him tightly. “It’s gonna be ok, Stefan.” He hugged her back tightly and she felt him let out a deep sigh.

“I didn’t want to kill her.” He said softly.

“I know, Stefan. It’s ok.” She replied. “It’s gonna be ok. You didn’t kill her. Listen, it’ll get better. You just need time.”

Stefan scoffed. “I’ve had a hundred and forty six years of time.” He said as he pulled away.

“Come on, let me take you home and you can drink too much and mope.” Ellie suggested. “Come on, please?”

“No, Ellie. I should… I should go.” 

“Stefan…” She gave him a look before he finally sighed.

“Alright, let’s just go. Please.” He told her as he allowed her to lead him back to her car. Neither of them said anything as she drove them to the boarding house. It was a bit of a relief when she realized that Damon wasn’t home. Stefan needed a minute to pull himself back from the edge. “You don’t have to stay.” He told her quietly as he poured himself a drink.

“Thanks, but I think I will. At least for a while anyways.” She replied. She followed him as he went over to the fireplace and started it up. Once he finished it, he took a seat on the edge of the table and just stared into the fire. His expression reminded her of the looks he’d get after Klaus made him kill someone. It was like a pain he didn’t know how to deal with. It made her want to fight Elena. He didn’t deserve this.

She moved and sat beside him. She gave him a minute to decide if he was going to let her sit there or not and when he didn’t move or push her away, she moved closer. Ellie rested her head on his shoulder before looping her arms through his and held his hand. He’d given her so much comfort during the summer and what she had been able to do for him never felt like enough. There were things that she wanted to say, but she held her tongue. Sometimes, people didn’t want you to talk. They just wanted you to be there. That you were more of a comfort to them than your words would be. She was certain this was one of those times.

They sat together for a while as she let Stefan mull over his emotions before the door opened. “They let Ric go.” Damon announced as he came in. “Sheriff Forbes said she’s out of suspects again, but Ric is in the clear.” She could hear him walk over, but didn’t turn to look. “I know it may not seem like it, but you did really well tonight. I mean before you know it, you’re gonna be the king of moderation. Elena will understand.”

“It doesn’t really matter what Elena thinks.” Stefan said flatly.

“Uh-uh. None of that. No more no humanity Stefan. There’s a road called recovery, and we are on it.” Damon replied.

Stefan shot up and turned to Damon. “Why do you even care, huh? The whole brother bonding thing, getting Elena to hate you. Why, you feel guilty because you kissed her? Is that it, Damon? Because you can stop. Go back to hating me. It was a lot easier.”

Ellie rose from her spot but didn’t interrupt them. She was fairly certain that this was a conversation that they’d been needing to have. “Can you for one minute actually believe that I’m trying to help you?” Damon asked.

“I don’t need your help.” Stefan said as he started to walk away.

“Don’t need my… are you kidding me? Do you remember what happened last time you said that?”

“What are you talking about?”

“1912, Stefan, the last time I convinced you to drink human blood. I told you that you’d simply forgotten how good it felt to drink human blood. So had I, but Sage, she reminded me. It’s worth it. It’s all worth it. I got you to feed and you ended up killing the girl. The Founders Council killer had nothing on you. By the decade’s end they were calling you the Ripper of Monterey. I let you walk away. I watched you go over the edge and I didn’t do anything to stop you.” Damon explained. Ellie had never seen him look so guilty.

“You couldn’t have.” Stefan replied.

“Sure, I could have.” Damon told him. “But I just didn’t want to. But I want to now. Whenever you go too far, I will be there to pull you back. Every second, every day till you don’t need me.”

“Why?”

Damon hesitated before he answered, “Cause right now, you’re all I got.”

Stefan walked away, heading up to his room, leaving Ellie and Damon alone. She walked over and quietly said, “He’s on the verge of falling apart Damon.  Please don’t let him.”

He looked over to her, looking more serious than she’d ever seen. “I won’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did the world turn upside down? Did Damon and Ellie actually just interact without one of them being annoyed by the other? Freaky. As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
> 
> Posted: 2/20/21


	58. Break On Through

**Chapter 58: Break On Through**

_ October 27, 2010 _

The last couple of days had been overwhelmingly stressful. Ellie was having to balance her research trying to find where the last of the white oak was on top of trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with Alaric. Dr. Fell had explained that she thought that it was Alaric killing people, though she didn’t think he was aware that he was doing it. Apparently, Alaric had been having blackouts and instances of lost time.

She also reminded them that the weapons used to kill the members of the founders council had been from the Gilbert stash and Alaric’s personal stash, both of which he’d had complete access to. It wouldn’t have been hard for him to get into the house to get a weapon since Jenna and Ellie were rarely there anymore. With his ring, Dr. Fell had been unable to tell anything about his wounds which led her to believe there was a chance that it was entirely self-inflicted.

It was the ring that Dr. Fell seemed particularly worried about. She had apparently had access to an old Gilbert journal, though no one knew how or why she had it and she hadn’t been inclined to share that bit of information. The journal had belonged to someone named Samantha Gilbert who had ended up so insane that she ended up in an insane asylum. Elena had shown Ellie the journal after she’d gone through it and saw how Samantha’s sanity had declined throughout her writings. 

Even if the words alone hadn’t been enough, the change in penmanship definitely was. The beginning of the diary had been filled with a penmanship that was absolutely beautiful. It was soft and feminine and beautifully neat. By the end of the journal, the writing was so hard and cramped together that it was barely legible. Some of it was impossible to read. But Samantha Gilbert had also been in possession of one of the Gilbert rings.

Dr. Fell’s working theory was that whatever magic the rings held in them, there was a price for cheating death so many times. It made sense, which had led to Ellie agreeing to do whatever Dr. Fell needed her to do so that she could help. It wasn’t just Alaric that was at risk with whatever was going on. Jeremy had one of those rings too and she would do whatever it took to keep him safe. 

That led Ellie to where she was now. Currently, she, Elena, and Dr. Fell were standing behind an observation window and Ric was on the other side of the glass and laying on the table of an MRI machine. “What are you looking for?” Elena asked as Dr. Fell clicked away at the computer.

“I don’t know.” Dr. Fell confessed. A male nurse was helping make sure that Alaric was in place as she added, “A tumor, vascular anomalies. Anything physical that might explain his behavior. If it’s medical, I can treat it.”

“And if it’s not?”

“Well… then we’ll deal with that too.” Dr. Fell assured her.

Ellie nodded. “She’s right. If it’s not medical, then it’s magical. Between me and Bonnie as well as the old Bennett grimoires and Gilbert diaries, we should be able to figure something out.”

Dr. Fell nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.”

The nurse pushed the table into the machine as Elena asked, “When did you suspect him? That it was Alaric who was killing all of those people?”

“It was after he told me about his ring. I remembered a story my grandmother had told me about Samantha Gilbert and her secret journal. I don’t know if you know this, but we Fells are notorious busybodies.” 

The twins chuckled slightly at her joke before Elena asked, “Then why did you protect him?”

Dr. Fell hesitated before she confessed, “Because I’m a doctor. I don’t like to see someone hurt by something they have no control over. And, because when he and I first met, I felt like, I don’t know, I… I just kind of want to help him.” 

They could just barely see Alaric from where he was in the machine, but Ellie spotted the way he started to fidget around. “Is he ok?” She asked worriedly as she pointed to his odd movements.

“I don’t know.” Dr. Fell admitted. She leaned down to the small microphone on the desk. There was a beeping sound before she asked, “Everything all right in there?”

He stilled for a moment before he replied, “Yeah, yeah everything’s ok.” They watched as Dr. Fell did whatever it was she was doing. 

It didn’t take as long to do the MRI as Ellie had expected, and soon enough, Dr. Fell was leaning back into the microphone and telling Alaric, “You can head on back to your room and change back into your regular clothing. I’ll look over the results now and let you know what we find.” The nurse pulled the bed back out of the machine and Alaric left the room as Dr. Fell sat to read the results. “Normally, it can take a couple of weeks to get regular MRI results read, but we don’t have that kind of time.” Dr. Fell explained to them.

Both Ellie and Elena stood just behind Dr. Fell as they waited anxiously. In all honesty, Ellie wasn’t sure if she’d rather Dr. Fell found something or not. Was it better for whatever was happening to Alaric to an actual medical problem? Or was it better if it was a magical problem? When Dr. Fell sighed heavily, Ellie leaned forward slightly to try and get a better look even though she couldn’t exactly read an MRI. “What is it? What’s wrong? Did you find something?”

Dr. Fell pushed her chair away from the table and stood to face them. “Everything in the scan reads normally.” She told them. “I don’t know what else to try to explain it medically, but I’ll keep looking. Medical problem or not I won’t stop until I figure out a way to help him.”

Elena had an odd expression on her face as she nodded. “Thank you. Ellie and I can go give him the news. I’m sure you’ve got other patients you’ve got to attend to.”

“Thank you.” Dr. Fell replied.

The two girls made their way out of the room to head for Alaric. By the time they reached him, he’d already changed clothes and the door was open. “Meredith says that everything is normal.” Elena told him with a smile.

“Yeah, well everything  _ is _ normal.” Alaric replied. “Because there is nothing wrong with me. I didn’t kill Brian Walters. I didn’t kill Bill Forbes. And I sure as hell didn’t shove a hunting knife into my stomach.” Elena’s smile fell at his defensive, nearly angry tone. Alaric looked down at the ring and hesitated. “Or I did, and I’ve gone insane, just like your ancestor, who wore that ring.”

“Look, I’m going to call Bonnie. The rings were made by a Bennett witch. So maybe a witch can reverse the damage.” Elena told him.

Alaric slid the ring towards them. “Take it. I don’t want it anymore.”

“Ready to ditch this house of horrors?” Damon asked Alaric as he leaned against the doorframe. “Oof, you look terrible.”

Alaric laughed softly. “Yeah. Let me… let me check out of here.”

Elena glared at Damon before walking off angrily. Damon and Ellie followed behind her and Ellie just knew this was going to end badly. They’d made it to the exit as Damon told Elena, “Don’t worry about him. We’ll take him out for chicken soup. We’ll get him a martini, make sure he doesn’t kill anybody.”

“What is wrong with you?” Elena asked angrily. “How could you just go out feeding with Stefan like some vampire pub crawl?”

“Oh, right. I thought we were talking about Alaric. But of course we’re talking about Stefan.”

Elena turned back to face him. “You stood there and let him feed on an innocent girl!”

“I didn’t let him do anything.” Damon told her. “If you want to get nit picky about it, I  _ made  _ him.”

She fumbled for her words before asking, “Why would you do that?”

“Because we’re vampires, Elena.” Damon said as he lowered his voice on the word vampire so that they wouldn’t be overheard. “We need human blood to survive. We’re predators, not puppies.”

“Well, Stefan found a way around it before.”

“Stefan has built himself a delusional wagon which he has repeatedly fallen off of.” Damon informed her bluntly. “What he needs to learn is control.”

“He was able to manage it when he was drinking my blood. Small amounts every single day.” Elena shot back.

“Ah, yes, back when you two were in love and it was all rainbows and unicorns.” Damon said sarcastically.

Elena made a face as she replied, “I’m just saying maybe you’re not the right person to be teaching Stefan about self control.”

“Jesus Christ Elena.” Ellie groaned. “Pray tell, who then would be the one to teach Stefan self control? You sure as hell don’t know what it’s like to be a vampire.”

Elena looked surprised before she frowned. “You don’t either.”

“No, I don’t but I did watch Stefan struggle the entire summer with the shit Klaus was making him do. I also watched as he desperately tried to keep Klaus from finding out about you while you were stupid enough to come after us repeatedly. Trust me, I was aware that you were in that apartment in Chicago. And what exactly is your issue with Stefan drinking human blood anyways?” Ellie asked.

“What are you talking about?”

“You single out Stefan specifically. I’ve never seen you say anything about Caroline drinking human blood and you especially never complained about Damon drinking human blood. So why is it that you have this ridiculous expectation of what kind of vampire Stefan is supposed to be?” Ellie explained.

“I don’t do that.” Elena said defensively.

“Yes, yes you do.” Ellie shot back. “Of literally all the bad things Stefan could do, feeding on a girl and not killing her is incredibly low on the list. And if you think so lowly of Damon, why is it that you were making out with him in the first place?” Elena looked dumbfoundedly at Ellie. “You don’t exactly have a moral high ground to stand on Elena. So maybe stop being so damn judgy, it’s getting old.”

Instead of answering Ellie’s questions, Elena deflected just like she always did. “You’re siding with Damon now? I thought you hated him?”

“I do.” Ellie replied immediately. “For a multitude of reasons. But Jesus Elena despite me kind of hating him, I’m not so oblivious to not realize that he loves Stefan. He’s trying to help him because Stefan desperately needs it. You’re making it way more difficult than it needs to be with shaming Stefan for acting like a normal vampire.”

“I am not shaming him!” Elena huffed. She opened her mouth to say something else, but seemed to think better of it. Instead, she got into her car and drove off.

Once she was gone, Damon gave Ellie a surprised look. “Defending me now Sabrina? What has the world come to?” He asked sarcastically.

Ellie, for once, wasn’t annoyed with him. “There’s a lot about you I don’t like. I’m not shy about making that known. There’s a lot of things you’ve done that kind of make me want to kill you. But you love Stefan, Damon. You love him as much as I love Elena and Jeremy, even when she makes me want to kill her. You wouldn’t repeatedly risk your life trying to free him from Klaus if you didn’t.”

“The only reason he was in the mess was to save my life.” Damon replied.

“True, but I won’t be forgetting what you told him at the boarding house anytime soon.” She said. “I’ve never seen you look so guilty Damon. If there is anything you’ve ever done in your entire life that you actually regret, I’d be willing to bet that it was letting Stefan go over the edge. But I care about Stefan. He’s important to me, whether he’s Elena’s boyfriend or not. I want to help him and the way to do that is for him to learn control. Actual control and not the wacked out feeding on Bambi and Thumper plan he’s been trying.”

“I agree.” Damon nodded. “But you’ve also been up the Mikaelson’s asses since you got back to Mystic Falls.”

“I actually like Rebekah, believe it or not. And Elijah has never done anything bad to us.” She told him. “Don’t even think about trying to say that he didn’t kill Klaus when he promised he would. If you don’t have the ability to kill Stefan, you don’t get to judge. But Elena hasn’t exactly made being back easy and she’s repeatedly kept things from me.” She sighed heavily and shifted the topic back with a wave of her hand. “Either way, I think we can at least agree to put our differences aside to help Stefan, yes?”

Damon gave her a skeptical look. “You really want to help him, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“You’re not going to judge the plan to get him to where he can moderate himself?”

“As long as you don’t kill anyone. If it’s snatch, eat, erase, then I’m fine with it.” 

To her surprise, Damon held out a hand. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Sabrina.”

* * *

At Rebekah’s insistence, Ellie allowed herself to be dragged out to the Restoration of the Wickery Bridge event. It felt weird being there, though Ellie kept it to herself. As Rebekah chatted away with Mayor Lockwood, Ellie watched the workers with mild interest. A good group of people had turned out for the event, though Ellie and Rebekah seemed to be the only teens present. Ellie hadn’t paid even the slightest bit of attention to the conversation at hand, and only just managed to catch Mayor Lockwood saying, “Well girls, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go speak with Alaric.”

“Of course, Mayor Lockwood. Thank you for chatting with me.” Rebekah said politely as Mayor Lockwood walked away. Alaric had indeed arrived with Dr. Fell and Damon. Though Alaric looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

“Did you get anything useful from that?” Ellie asked curiously as they walked aimlessly through the crowd.

“More than you’d expect. Plus, it helps to be on the Mayor’s good side. It might make her more hospitable to my family.” Rebekah replied.

Mayor Lockwood had walked up onto the small stage and greeted the group. “Welcome everyone to the Wickery Bridge Fundraiser. Wickery Bridge is one of the original bridges of Mystic Falls. Construction has begun replacing the original wooden support structure to meet modern safety standards. And, our beautification phase will begin in the spring. So give yourselves a hand.”

The girls dutifully clapped along with the rest of the group. Ellie noticed Damon making his way through the crowd and frowned as he stopped in front of an unfamiliar girl. “Who the hell is that?” Ellie asked. Anyone Damon knew was likely bad news.

Rebekah turned and then scoffed. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. Come on.” Rebekah headed straight for them and said, “Well, look what the cat dragged in.”

“Easy there, Rebekah.” Damon warned. “You know, she used to beat men for sport.”

“She always was quite common.” Rebekah replied.

“Rebekah, what a happy surprise.” The woman said, though it was clear that this was anything but.

“What are you doing here, Sage?” Rebekah asked.

“Well, I heard Finn was finally freed from that casket your rageaholic brother Klaus carted him around in.” Sage replied. 

Rebekah nodded before telling Sage, “Oh, Finn. you just missed him. He left town and didn’t tell a soul where he was going.”

“Oh, he probably went looking for me.” Sage said confidently.

Rebekah laughed at that. “Or, quite possibly, he forgot all about you.”

“I doubt that.” Sage replied.

“Oh? Because he didn’t seem to mention you. Sorry you came all this way for nothing. Have a nice life.” Rebekah gave Sage a fake smile before walking away.

Ellie followed Rebekah over to where the snacks were. “So, who exactly was that?” She asked curiously.

“Sage.” Rebekah said the name like it was a curse. “She was a whimpering puppy dog, all attached to Finn nine hundred years ago. He turned her. She was annoying then and she’s annoying now. I never thought she was good enough for Finn in all honesty.”

“Oh.” Ellie replied, not knowing what else to say. 

Her attention was drawn to the truck driving over the bridge. “Ellie, are you ok?” Rebekah asked as she touched Ellie’s arm softly. “Ellie?”

“What?” 

“What just happened? What were you looking at?” Rebekah asked, concern written all over her face. Ellie faltered, and that seemed to concern Rebekah even more. “Ellie you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“This is the bridge my parents died on.” Ellie finally confessed. “My parents, Elena, and I were in the car. It was slick from the rain, they lost control and we went over. Stefan heard the crash and dived in to help. Our dad made him get us first. By the time he’d gotten us out, it was too late for our parents. And then when Stefan and Klaus were going at it, he almost drove Elena off this bridge after he fed her his blood.”

Rebekah too had lost her color. “Ellie, I am so sorry, I didn’t know. Do we need to leave?”

“No, no, it’s ok. It’s been way over a year now. I just… I didn’t expect it to get to me. I’ve driven over this bridge since then and it was fine. I don’t know what happened that it’s affecting me now.” Ellie replied. “I just need a second.”

“Come on, let’s get a snack and a drink. Maybe it’ll help you feel better.” Rebekah suggested.

Ellie gave her a grateful smile as she allowed Rebekah to pass her a handful of snacks. “Thanks.” In truth, eating something did make her feel a bit better and helped her ease her unsettled stomach.

They’d been going through the snack line again when Damon approached from behind. “Anyone ever tell you you’re sexy when you’re bitchy?”

Ellie rolled her eyes at how close Damon got to Rebekah as she asked, “We’re talking now, are we? Because you were quite rude the other day. Using me to help you with Stefan and then shooing me away like a stray dog.”

“Ah, but that was brother business. You can’t hold that against me.” Damon replied. “Besides, I really did appreciate your help. Even if I didn’t show it.”

“You were mean.”

“You  _ like _ mean.”

“No, I don’t.” Rebekah replied immediately as she turned to face Damon.

Damon raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “No? You didn’t get a thrill back there pushing Sage down, crushing her dreams of true love?”

“Maybe a little.”

“See? Mean.” Damon told her. “Can Sage and I interest you in a drink back at my house?”

“Not a chance in hell.”

“Well, you know what they say. Two’s company, three is a party.” Damon and Rebekah just stared at each other for a long moment before Damon nodded. “Fine. Enjoy the rest of your day.” He had leaned far into Rebekah’s personal space, his hand running along her hip until he moved away.

Ellie frowned at his retreating form until he was out of sight. “God I need to bleach my eyes and maybe my brain if it means getting that image out of my head.” She huffed. Rebekah laughed along with her, but her eyes remained glued to the spot where Damon had walked away. “Bekah… don’t tell me you’re actually thinking about it?”

Rebekah turned to face Ellie and shrugged. “What’s the worst that could come of it?” She asked.

“I thought you hated Sage?”

“Well, I’m not Damon’s biggest fan either, but at least the sex was good.” Rebekah replied.

Ellie gagged a little on instinct. “Bleaching my ears has now been added to the list of things that I need to do today.” Rebekah gave her a look and Ellie just sighed. “Fine, fine go have a weird threesome with two people that you kind of hate. Far be it from me to stop you.”

“Are you going to be alright all by your lonesome?” Rebekah teased.

“I think I’ll manage.” Ellie laughed. “But, I’m probably going to actually go home. Ric is probably going to be there and he needs help.”

“I thought the teacher and your aunt broke up. Why would he be at your house?” Rebekah asked as they walked towards Ellie’s car.

“They did break up. But our house is closer to the hospital than his apartment and Dr. Fell has been keeping an eye on him. Plus, we’re trying to figure out what exactly is wrong with him, and Elena’s been hovering.”

Rebekah’s eyebrow quirked up instantly. “Well, someone said Elena’s name with distaste.” She commented. “What did she do?”

Ellie groaned at the thought. “Elena and I got into it again.”

“About?”

“Her being so damn judgy of Stefan drinking human blood. He needs to learn control, you agree, yes?” Ellie asked.

“Mmhmm.” Rebekah replied.

“I think so too. I agree with it to the point that I’m willing to work with Damon, so that should tell you something.” Ellie told her. “But Elena got into it with Damon basically judging him and saying he probably shouldn’t be the one to teach Stefan about self control and it’s just been hectic lately with everything happening, so I’m not exactly in the best of moods. So I kind of told her off.”

“And I missed it?” Rebekah whined. “Damn it. Next time gives me a heads up will you? I’ll bring popcorn.”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Of course, how inconsiderate of me to not inform you before fighting with my sister.”

“It really is.”

“My apologies.” Ellie replied.

Rebekah leaned against the car and gave Ellie a look. “How about this, after I’m done with Damon and Sage, I’ll stop by your house and save you from the pain that is Elena. Does that sound like a deal?” She was grinning at Ellie expectantly. “Afterwards we can get stuff to decorate your room. Oh, we could have a movie night! We could watch that movie you were telling me about. The one about the boat!”

“Do you mean Titanic?” Ellie asked with a laugh.

“Mmm, yes, that one. That’s the one about the boat and the necklace yes?” Rebekah asked.

“Yeah, that’d be the one. But fair warning, it’ll probably make you cry.”

The blonde looked unimpressed. “Oh, I doubt it. I’m a big girl.”

“We’ll see. Go, have your weird ass threesome that I’m always gonna be a little grossed out by.”

* * *

By the time Ellie had gotten to the house, Elena was already there. Alaric and Dr. Fell were there too. Elena had called someone multiple times, though they didn’t seem to be answering. “Who are you trying to call?” Ellie asked.

Dr. Fell and Alaric were seated at the kitchen table as Elena and Ellie stood in the living room. “I’m trying to call Bonnie.” Elena replied quietly, so that they weren’t overheard. “We need her help, sooner rather than later.”

“Elena, her mom is still adjusting. Are you really surprised she’s not answering?” Ellie questioned.

“No, but we still need her help.” 

Ellie just stared at her before sighing. “If you want someone to answer, call Caroline. But it’s not guaranteed that Bonnie’s going to help and you’re not going to force her.”

“I wouldn’t force her!” Elena shot back, clearly offended.

“I’ll look for something as well. I have some grimoires and I’ll see if I can kind anything.” Ellie told her.

“But the rings were made by a Bennett witch. Where did you get grimoires?”

“Elena, they’re Bennett grimoires. You do remember that Bonnie’s Grams was teaching me how to control my magic before she died right? She gave me some of the grimoires before she died.” Ellie replied.

Elena straightened slightly in response. “Oh. Well, ok, but I’m gonna go call Caroline to tell her we need Bonnie’s help. I’ll be back soon.” Elena said. “I’ll be right back guys, I need to run up to the bathroom really quick.”

“Alright.” Dr. Fell nodded as she picked up a bottle of alcohol. Once Elena was gone, Dr. Fell brought the bottle over to Alaric. “You know, I really don’t think you should be looking through that stuff.”

“Ah, it’s the truth.” Alaric replied. “Restraining orders and all. My life in a series of police reports.”

“You don’t strike me as an angry guy.” Dr. Fell confessed. “Which sounds weird given everything. But, you don’t.”

Ellie watched the two of them with interest. “Yeah, well, I was stupid when I was younger. But listen, it’s not like these guys didn’t have it coming. I mean, this guy here broke a beer bottle over a bartender’s head. And this guy… hit his girlfriend. And this guy... ok this guy was just a douche.” They both laughed lightly at that. “Everyone needs to find a way to deal with their dark side. Some people meditate. I became a vampire hunter.”

“Mmm, semi-retired.” 

“Listen, there’s something that’s not in these reports that I need to tell you about.” Alaric said seriously.

Dr. Fell looked a little wary as she said, “Ok… ominous. Shoot.” 

“Your cousin, Logan Fell, the one who was vampire slayed? I did the slaying.” Alaric confessed.

She tensed at his admission and Ellie felt her heart go out for her. She hadn’t liked Logan because of how he’d been with Jenna, but she still felt bad that Dr. Fell had lost her cousin. “The vampire thing… it’s not my fight. I use their blood for what I need and leave the judgement to everyone else. Although, I have kind of been wondering why you never drove a stake through Damon’s heart.”

“I tried once.” Alaric replied. “He killed me. Yeah, yeah, figures. The thing that started all this ring stuff was me being angry enough to think I could take on a vampire in the first place.”

When Dr. Fell took his hand, Ellie suddenly felt like she was intruding and made her way up to her room quietly. When she shut the door behind her, it was unsettling to realize that it felt odd to be in her own bedroom. She’d spent the majority of her life growing up in this room and now it didn’t feel like hers anymore.

She pushed the feeling aside in favor of hunting down the grimoires that she’d hidden. They were exactly where she’d left them and she curled up in her bed and got to work. Like always, she lost herself in the grimoires. She’d managed to find mentions of the ring and how they were created, but so far there was no mention of why they were driving their wearers insane or how to fix it. Caroline had texted a few times to see if she’d found anything, but once again, Ellie didn’t. “Hello?” She asked once her phone started to ring.

_ “Hey, have you found anything?” _

“Unfortunately not.” Ellie admitted.

_ “Really? In all the grimoires you have, there’s nothing?” _ Caroline asked.

“There’s talk of the rings, but there’s nothing on how to fix our current problem.” Ellie replied. “How are Bonnie and Abby?”

_ “Not too great at the moment. Abby was hungry and kind of fed on Jamie a little bit and freaked out. Really it wasn’t that bad, and it wasn’t anything a bit of my blood couldn’t fix. But she’s a little panicked either way.” _

Ellie winced. “Do you think you can calm her down?”

_ “Well, I’m gonna try. But since you can’t find anything, which totally isn’t your fault so don’t try and find a way to blame yourself or I will fight you, I’m going to ask them to see if there’s anything in the grimoire that Abby still has that might help.” _

“You know me so well.” Ellie joked. In truth, she probably would have blamed herself for not being able to keep Bonnie and her mom out of it.

_ “It’s my superpower. I’ll keep you and Elena updated as soon as I know something.” _

“Thanks, Care.”

_ “It’s what best friends are for.” _

As she hung up, Elena let herself into the bedroom. “Hey. Alaric wants to talk to us.”

Ellie closed the grimoire and followed Elena down. At this point, it really shouldn’t have surprised her to realize that the sun had gone down already. “Hey, guys.” Alaric greeted them as they walked into the kitchen. “Can you guys take a seat?” When they complied, he pushed a notepad towards them. “Listen, I want you guys to have this. This is a list of my bank accounts, passwords, where to find my will and how to contact my family. Just in case this doesn’t go my way.”

“No, no, don’t even think like that.” Elena replied as she pushed the pad back towards him.

“Elena, I need to know that you and Ellie and Jeremy are gonna be ok. Just because Jenna and I broke up, that doesn’t mean that I stopped caring about you guys. I think it’s what Isobel would want me to do. You’re her kids, and I want to make sure that you guys are ok.” Alaric explained.

“We’re all going to be fine.” Elena insisted. Her phone started to ring and she quickly answered. “Caroline?”

As Elena stood so that she could talk with Caroline, Ellie looked over at Alaric. “We’re gonna get through this Ric.”

He looked almost defeated as he pushed the pad back towards her. “Maybe we will, but Ellie, please, please just take this so that if it doesn’t, I know things will be taken care of. I know I messed up royally for agreeing with Elena’s plan of compelling Jeremy. I know that I did and I know that Jenna’s never going to forgive me for that, but I owe it to her and to Isobel to do my part for you guys. You guys became my family when I didn’t think I had one anymore. I’ll never be able to repay you for that.”

“Ric…” She reached out and squeezed his hand. “I promise.” She finally agreed. “But you are going to be ok. We won’t stop until you are.”

“Bonnie, I’m so sorry for everything. Thank you for doing this.” Ellie turned at the sound of Bonnie’s name. She was honestly surprised that Bonnie was speaking to Elena.

“Good news? Bad news?” Alaric asked.

“Bonnie thinks that she can help you with a spell.” Elena explained.

“Well, it’s worth a try.” Alaric agreed.

Elena leaned forward slightly to brace her weight on the table. “But she needs something that you wore before you put on the ring. Something personal.” 

“Well, there’s uh… my wedding ring. It’s at the loft.”

“Ok, yeah. Um that’s, a good idea.”

Alaric started to stand, but Dr. Fell reached out and kept him from moving. “Ah, I think it’s better if you stay here with me.” She advised.

“Oh, you and your tranquilizers.” Alaric replied.

Ellie gave Elena a look. “Dr. Fell is right. He should stay here just in case. I’ll stay too, just as a precaution.”

Alaric and Elena both nodded before Alaric said, “It’s in the dresser by the kitchen. It’s in uh, an aspirin bottle. Probably covered in cobwebs.”

“Ok. I’ll be back soon.” Elena rushed out of the house as Ellie texted Jenna an update on what was happening.

Dr. Fell had put away the police files on Alaric as he made his way over to the living room to idly watch tv. No one had expected for the doorbell to ring. Dr. Fell, unsurprisingly, looked a little tense. “Don’t worry, it’s only Stefan. I’ll get it.” Dr. Fell looked incredibly confused. “It’s a witch thing.”

“Ok, then.” Dr. Fell just nodded along.

“Stefan.” Ellie greeted as she opened the door.

“Hey. I was looking for Elena. Is she here?” Stefan asked as he shifted back and forth.

“Sorry, you just missed her. She’s headed over to Ric’s apartment to get his wedding ring. Apparently, Bonnie or her mom, not sure which, but they know how to help him.” Ellie explained.

Stefan hummed. “Thanks, I’ll probably swing by and talk to her.”

“Wanna tell me what’s up?” Ellie asked curiously.

“Nothing, really, I was a dick earlier and wanted to apologize. That’s all, really.” Stefan assured her. “Ellie, I promise.”

“Alright, alright. I believe you. Help her find the ring and then get back here, yeah?”

“I’ll see you soon.” Stefan was gone in an instant and Ellie closed the door before locking it.

Dr. Fell was pulling out the stuff to make coffee when Ellie walked back into the kitchen. “Is everything ok?” She asked as she poured water into the coffee maker.

“Yeah, that’s just… Elena and Stefan relationship drama.” Ellie replied. “You know, Dr. Fell, I just wanted to say thank you again for everything that you’re doing for Ric.”

The other girl turned to give Ellie a bright smile. “Really, it’s nothing to thank me over. All I ever wanted to do was help people. I’m just doing what I can. And you know, you can call me Meredith if you want to.”

“Thanks.” Ellie told her, “I’d add an extra scoop of coffee in there. I’m pretty sure Alaric’s half asleep on the couch.”

“Will do.” Meredith agreed. “Still with us?”

“Yeah.” Alaric called back, but Ellie could hear the sleep in his voice. “Yeah, I’m still with you.”

“I’m half dead, too.” Meredith assured him. “Neither one of us has slept in two days. Don’t worry. I’ve got coffee on.” When he didn’t reply the two girls laughed softly. “I guess you’re right. He is about to pass out. Hey, would it be ok if I made us some sandwiches? I’m starving.”

Ellie nodded. “Help yourself. The bread is in that cabinet over there. I think we have white bread or wheat if you’d prefer that.”

“Thank you.”

“Hey, I’ll be right back, I’m going to run this trash out.” Ellie said as she tied the garbage bag. She’d gotten halfway to the garbage can when she felt a weird tug on the bag and the contents came spilling out. “Oh come on, are you kidding me?” She tossed the remaining contents of the bag into the trash can before staring scornfully at the spilled items. She spared a glance at her surroundings before using her magic to move the spilled garbage to where it was supposed to be. “Like hell I was touching all that.” She huffed to herself.

When her phone started to ring, Ellie answered it without looking to see who it was.  _ “My favorite witch, you’re never going to guess what’s going on!” _ Rebekah said excitedly.

“Rebekah, hey what’s up? You sound chipper. Did your kinda gross threesome go that well?” Ellie asked as she moved the last of the trash into the garbage can.

_ “Oh, it went so much better than I could have hoped. Turns out Sage holding a candle for Finn after all this time has it’s uses. She found out where the white oak was. I’m burning it all now. Klaus is going to love this.” _

“That’s amazing Rebekah! Great work!” Ellie replied.

_ “Yes, it is if I do say so myself. I’m sure Damon will be here soon. So I intend to gloat and then I’ll come by your house so that we can go and celebrate. Ok?”  _ Rebekah asked.

“That sounds like a plan. Bonnie’s figured something out to help Alaric, so I’m not needed here.”

_ “Perfect! Oh, I think I hear Damon’s car. See you soon, love.” _

Alaric’s shout followed by the sound of something shattering caught Ellie’s attention, though she could barely hear it from where she was outside. When he shouted again, Ellie took off in a sprint for the kitchen. “Alaric?” Ellie called as she ran inside. A coffee cup was shattered on the kitchen floor. “Alaric? Meredith?” She called.

A knife was dropped at the base of the stairs, and Ellie felt chills race up her spine. She moved slowly up the stairs, her magic on alert. She couldn’t see where they had gone. Ellie carefully stepped into Elena’s room and hesitated when she saw a smear of blood on the wall. “You know, for a witch, you think you’d be more observant.”

She spun on her heel to see Alaric holding the knife that had been at the base of the stairs. “Ric… what did you do?”

“Meredith is a disgrace. She uses vampire blood on unsuspecting people because she’s a failure of a doctor. But you? You cling to a vampire family that has a man that killed your mother and your sister and your friend, and yet you pretend he isn’t some monster. After everything vampires have done to your family and your friends, I thought if anyone would have some common sense it would be you. But no, you’re even worse than Elena. I’m disgusted by you.”

“Ric… you aren’t yourself. Please, what did you do to Meredith?”

“Are you sorry?” He asked as he tilted the knife in her direction.

“For what?”

“For being such a pathetic excuse of a person. Only the most disgusting, lowest type of person would enjoy being associated with vampires. Especially the type you seem so fond of. It’s funny how you hate Damon when the Mikaelsons are so much worse. I’m sure your parents are glad that they’re dead so that they didn’t have to witness how pathetic you’ve become.”

His words had so much impact that she actually stumbled back. “Alaric, no, you don’t mean that. It’s the ring talking. It’s not you.” She denied.

He tilted his head to the side and gave her a cold smile. “Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter either way. You’re not going to be alive much longer. So you’re not going to have to worry about it.”

Before she realized what was happening, he lunged forward and the knife sunk deep into her gut. “Ellie!” Meredith screamed from inside the bathroom, obviously hearing what was happening outside. He ripped the knife out as her vision danced. All she could feel was pain. Her hand connected to his chest and a burst of magic had him flying into Elena’s wall before dropping to the ground in an unconscious heat. “Ellie get out of here, go!” Meredith cried.

Ellie nodded and stumbled towards the door. Her vision was going back and forth and her muscle memory took over to get her down the stairs. The blood on her hands made it impossible to get a solid grip on the railing and she almost fell down the stairs at the end. She let out a choked gurgling sound as she desperately tried to get the front door unlocked and opened with her blood soaked hands. She got the door open, but she couldn’t control her feet anymore and then gave out underneath her. The last thing she registered was the pain that came with her head slamming into the ground before there was just nothing.

* * *

Rebekah was positively gleeful as she walked along Ellie’s street. The white oak was gone and her family was safe. At least, safer than they’d been before. All they needed to do now was get rid of Esther and then they’d finally be free. She’d been immensely satisfied to one up Damon, especially since the son of a bitch had tricked her into bed with him to steal information from her head. At least the sex had been good.

She was a few houses away from Ellie’s when she froze. The smell of blood was strong and practically attacked her with how hard it hit her. “What in the bloody hell?” She muttered to herself. Rebekah looked up and noticed that the door to the Gilbert house was wide open. She broke into a sprint as she ran towards it. “Oh my god!” Blood was pooled around Ellie’s body where she had collapsed in front of the front door. She rushed forward to help, but cursed loudly when the magic barrier stopped her. “Bloody hell!” She cursed.

For the first time in a long time, Rebekah truly felt frantic. She pulled out her phone and prayed that he would answer quickly.  _ “What can I do for you, Rebekah?” _ Elijah asked calmly.

“Help, Elijah, please, Ellie’s hurt! She’s in her house! I’m not invited in. I can’t get to her!” Rebekah begged.

The shift in his voice was immediate.  _ “What are you talking about? What happened?” _

“I don’t know! I don’t know! I was coming to meet her but the door is wide open and she’s right there Elijah and there’s so much blood.” Rebekah explained.

_ “I’m on my way. Is she still alive?” _ Elijah asked. When Rebekah didn’t respond fast enough, Elijah snapped,  _ “Rebekah is she breathing or not?” _

She winced at the sharpness of his voice as she listened in on Ellie’s heartbeat. “She’s still alive, but her heart isn’t nearly as strong as it should be. Elijah, she’s lost a  _ lot _ of blood.” She could hear the sound of the wind hitting the microphone of Elijah’s phone as he ran, but all she could focus on was how pale and still Ellie was.

“My god.” Klaus said as he stopped next to Rebekah.

Elijah, on the other hand, all but threw himself inside the Gilbert home. Rebekah had been right. It was a lot of blood and Ellie was still bleeding from a stab wound in her gut. “Drink, Eleanor.” He said softly as he bit into his wrist and pressed it to her lips. For a long moment, there was nothing. “Eleanor, please, please drink.” He begged as he pressed his wrist more firmly to her mouth.

Rebekah reached out for Klaus, holding his hand tightly. Elijah was practically sitting in a pool of Ellie’s blood, begging her to drink, but she didn’t move. Her heart was still beating, but it was fainter than before. “Ellie, please, come on. Come on.” Rebekah begged as her eyes watered. Elijah looked broken as he pressed his wrist to Ellie’s mouth. Rebekah couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him so distraught.

“Eleanor, please.” His voice was soft, so soft that it was barely a whisper. 

Everything was so quiet that they heard it the first time she swallowed his blood. “Oh my god.” Rebekah gasped, her hand tightening around Klaus’ as Ellie finally started to respond and she began to actively drink from Elijah’s wrist. When Ellie’s hand came up to take a hold of Elijah’s more firmly, Rebekah felt hot tears roll down her cheeks. 

Ellie drank heavily for a moment before she moved Elijah’s wrist away. “Elijah?” Ellie asked as she stared up at him. His eyes were wide and panicked and he looked more pale than she’d ever seen. “I’m ok. I’m ok.” She whispered.

“I thought I…” Elijah faltered on the words as he helped her sit up. She was cradled in his lap as he held onto her. When Rebekah had called and he’d heard the fear in her voice, his heart had dropped. He felt for Ellie far more than he’d ever intended to and he’d almost just lost her. His hand rested on her throat and even the now steady thrum of her pulse did little to ease his panic. Both Rebekah and Klaus watched as their brother seemed to fight with something in himself before he swore softly, “Oh to hell with it.”

Ellie thought she was still disoriented when she felt Elijah kiss her. Shock and surprise ran through her before her mind tried to tell her that she was unconscious or hallucinating. Elijah had no interest in her like that. At least, she hadn’t thought that he did. Rebekah’s small squeal of excitement was what made it register that this was actually happening and not something that she was dreaming. It only then occurred to her that she hadn’t responded and he was starting to pull away.

On instinct, her hand shot out, wrapping around the back of his head and pulling him back towards her. The kiss was soft and slow, and the closest thing she could describe it as was that it was like relief. It felt safe and warm and it made her heart beat violently in her chest. For a moment, she forgot that Klaus and Rebekah were just a few feet away and watching. She forgot about the mess with Alaric and Meredith and for once let herself enjoy the moment the way she wanted to. She’d almost died. It was fair to cut herself some slack.

When they broke the kiss, her lips were tingling and her skin felt like it was on fire. Elijah’s hand moved away from her throat in favor of brushing her hair away from her face. He pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead and let it linger before he rested his forehead against hers. “Are you alright?” Elijah asked softly.

“Well, I’m great now.” She shot back.

He smiled at her fondly as both Rebekah and Klaus chuckled at her joke. “I’m glad I could be of service.” He replied.

As she came down from the rush of kissing Elijah and almost dying, she seemed to come back to her senses and realized that they were both sitting in her blood. “That’s a lot of blood.” She commented as she looked down around them.

“You were very lucky that Rebekah got here when she did, little witch.” Klaus informed her. “You might not have lasted much longer.”

She knew he didn’t say it to scare her, and nodded tiredly in agreement. “I owe you Bekah. You saved my life.”

“What are friends for if it’s not to save each other's lives?” Rebekah asked, though she still looked a bit shaken from the whole ordeal. 

“Ellie?” Elena’s shout caught their attention. They’d not been paying enough attention to hear her car pulling up in the drive. “What did you do?” Elena accused as she rushed up to the Mikaelsons with Stefan hot on her heels.

“She would be dead without Rebekah. Show a little respect.” Klaus warned, glaring darkly at the other Gilbert girl.

“Oh my god. Meredith.” Ellie said as she tried to push herself into more of a sitting position. “He did something to Meredith.”

Stefan seemed to understand what was going on. “Where is he?”

“I think I knocked him out before I came down here. I think Meredith is in Jeremy and Elena’s bathroom.” Ellie said slowly as the adrenaline wore off.

Stefan looked over to Elena. “Come on, I’m gonna need your help.”

“Is she ok?” Elena asked as she looked over Ellie and all the blood.

“I’ve fed her my blood. She’ll be fine.” Elijah assured her. The two rushed up the stairs after that confirmation.

“That’s gonna be such a pain to clean.” Ellie groaned as her head dropped onto Elijah’s shoulders. “I should get started so the stains don’t set.”

Rebekah gave her a look of disbelief. “You almost just died and you’re worried about the floor getting stained?”

Ellie nodded as she tried to stand. “No, you’re not cleaning it. I’ll have some men handle it.” Klaus replied as he pulled out his phone. Ellie looked like she was going to protest before he held up a finger. “They’re human and will be compelled and paid. Nothing bad, and no funny business. You need to recover. Vampire blood or not, you still lost a lot of your own blood and need time.”

“Just let him do this for you, Eleanor.” Elijah instructed gently.

“Ok.” Ellie replied. It seemed that everything had finally caught up to the young witch and as Elijah stood up and pulled her into his arms, she dozed back off again. 

The Mikaelsons just stared at her for a moment. “We’re going to keep her safe, right?” Rebekah asked her brothers.

Klaus shared a significant look with Elijah. “Of course we are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god you literally have no idea how nervous I've been about this chapter. Did their first kiss live up to your hopes? I figured with how cautious they both are, something was going to have to push one of them over the edge to get them to make a move. Almost losing her without even getting to tell her how he felt seemed to do the trick. As always, please let me know your thoughts and leave a comment. I love you guys! 
> 
> Posted: 2/27/21


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